


The Knights of Grimm - Act 1 - An Eye For An Eye

by Cosmic_Fictions



Series: The Knights of Grimm [1]
Category: RWBY, Rooster Teeth
Genre: Action, Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Angst, Epic, Horror, Major Original Characters - Freeform, Multi, Paranormal, Post-Volume 4 (RWBY), Suspense, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-06
Updated: 2018-10-16
Packaged: 2019-07-07 17:36:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 25
Words: 190,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15913044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cosmic_Fictions/pseuds/Cosmic_Fictions
Summary: Team RWBY are reunited at Haven Academy, planning their next move against Cinder and Salem, when a new enemy rises from the darkness, a new servant of the Dark Queen. And this monster will destroy the team in a way that will never be recovered, and tear the other heroes apart before killing them all. The events that transpire will never be forgotten in Remnant...





	1. Prologue

** Prologue **

* * *

 

The taste of metallic, irony blood fills her mouth and her senses...

Her large silver eyes gaze out across the destroyed Kingdom of Mistral, the Academy of Haven in shatters from the huge battle that has torn this once great place apart.

Burning pain across her body where she has suffered immense pain from a fight she knew she could not win. Claret trickles down from a deep gash across the side of her forehead, bleeding down one of her eyes, partially blinding her vision with a reddish blur. Dizzy from shock, chunks of rubble surround her where she was thrown through the wall and tumbled down the hill and past different buildings.

Ruby sits upright, groaning with pain as she feels so light headed due to her concussion, and with her aura completely depleted she is in great danger. Her ears are ringing constantly from being stunned so severely, coughing up dust and even some splatters of blood into her hand. The roars and screeches of Nevermores echo above her head, grabbing and killing the civilians attempting to flee the city of Mistral.

Fires blaze across the city, the Grimm Dragon soars over the city as he breathes flames into the city. Plumes of smoke and fire plunge through the streets, consuming the civilians, hearing the sound of Beowulves ripping innocent civilians to shreds beneath her. Their screams burn through her ringing ears with terror, until she hears someone grunting with pain as well not far from where she is.

Ruby was not the only one who was thrown down there by their foe that is destroying them all in combat. Jaune stumbles, blood leaking from his side and staining his torn _Pumpkin Pete’s_ Hoodie that he wears all the time. Deep scratches and scuffs in his armour and in Crocea Mors as he approaches her, coughing as well. “Ruby!” He calls, squeezing his hand against the bloodied wound, claret stains his gauntleted hand, and he falls beside her as he tries to get her back to her feet. “Ruby!” He repeats, shaking her.

Ruby appears to be suffering from Shellshock; she cannot hear him or even acknowledge his presence at the moment. “Come on, Crater Face! Snap out of it!” He yells, and that seems to push her out from this state of shock that she is suffering from.

“J-Jaune...” Ruby weakly whispers, confused of what is happening due to her shock, coughing again from her pain that she suffers from. “W-Where’s Yang?” Ruby questions through a trembling voice, staring at her close friend for assistance and fear for her big sister’s safety. Jaune’s blue eyes dart back up to the crater in the building where they were both launched by him. Smoke rising from where they were, no longer hearing the clattering of weapons and cracks of gunfire that once burst earlier.

“I don’t know...” Jaune answers as he looks around, hearing something shuffling towards their location, the sounds of razor sharp claws scraping through the cobblestone beneath them. He scoops Ruby back up to her feet, her knees are shaking and she has a limp due to a deep gash in her ankle and in her side. She yelps from the sharp pain that just jolted through her body, it even feels like her arm could be broken, or at least cracked in some way.

The two of them jump from their skin, hearing the deafening screech of the Grimm Dragon that glides on over ahead, blasting flames from its jaws that burn more sections of the city to ashes, killing more and more innocent people and any surviving Huntsmen or Policemen. The huge black wings extend out, blocking out the lunar light from the fractured moon that hangs above the sky, watching their every move. It flies towards the main building in Haven Academy, slamming its huge sharp talons into the building and swinging its huge body around it to land on top. The Grimm Beast stretches its wings out and swings them back and forth, roaring immensely to the sky, breathing fire from its black scaly throat.

_It is like the end times..._

Jaune is not a fool...Haven and Mistral are both lost to them, the Grimm have invaded the city and are slaughtering everyone left and right around them. Ruby crouches down, or at least she struggles to, and grasps onto the massive body of Crescent Rose at her feet, some of the pain has been scraped off from the battle. Jaune grabs Ruby by her shoulders to get her attention, the shocked girl stares into his eyes fearfully. “Haven is finished! We have to go!” Jaune trembles, just as scared as his younger friend is, but she still wants to help stop them.

“We can’t just – argh – leave them...” She argues, pressing her hand against her side and holding onto Crescent Rose to not collapse from pain. Jaune catches her, holding her up despite his own wound that he has suffered from during this long siege.

“They can handle themselves! But we need to get the hell out of here!” Jaune pushes, staring into her eyes to convince her. Reluctantly, she groans and nods her head to agree with him, coughing with pain still. Ruby watches as he takes point, jogging ahead when suddenly a Grimm Beowulf lunges out at him with a roar, slashing its claws at him. She gasps as she goes to attack, until a blast of wind knocks her onto her back.

A huge black Nevermore flew right in front of them, the downdraft of its massive wings knocked her over, and the Beowulf has pinned Jaune against the ground. It snaps its bony jaws at him over and over again, drooling onto his face as he presses his Claymore against its throat. He roars with rage, pushing the blade and scraping it through its jugular. Black smoke erupts from the beast’s throat and it roars with pain, erupting and disintegrating into ashes around him, only just failing to kill him.

Jaune turns and stares at Ruby, seeing real fear in her eyes now. “Come on!” He calls.

Until suddenly...

An Obsidian Arrow shoots right past Jaune’s face, and as if time just slowed down, he could see the arrow slowly passing right by his face as it travels towards Ruby’s eye. The arrow shoots directly for Ruby, but she darts away with her semblance saving her life, a blast of petals saving her life. Jaune watches the arrow, seeing the obsidian arrow glistening against the sunlight, and then it vanishes into the petals, sliding across the floor. His eyes widen in grief when he sees the crimson colour of blood on the arrowhead.

His eyes turn when he sees Ruby stood there, stumbling around. Her head turns to face him, and Jaune nearly collapses from sorrow and anguish. He nearly drops Crocea Mors...

Her shoulder length black and red hair blows aside, revealing a flush of red that pours from her left eye socket, damaging her face badly. She stares at Jaune with her one eye, blood bleeding from her fresh wound that terrifies Jaune. His eyes bulge from his eyes. “Jaune?” She mutters in shock. Her body collapses to the ground, hitting the floor with her head. Jaune sprints to her side, holding her body in his arms.

“No!” Jaune cries out. “Ruby!” His cries of horror echo across Haven, across Mistral. Tears fall from his eyes. "No...Not again..." He begs, sniffling.

But then his eyes look up at where he saw the arrow come from.

He thought the arrow belonged to Cinder Fall, it was so similar...

Then he sees it stood there, and it haunts him...the same being that put them down there in the first place. The same being that has brought this Great Kingdom to its knees in practically one night.

It stands tall, formed from some sort of jet black armour plating and a long torn black cape made of smoke that flutters with the wind. It holds a Bow in its hand, and it shatters into tiny pieces, the chunks burn and transform into golden embers that are carried away in the wind as he stands there. The glowing red eyes in the sharp triangular helm glare directly into his large blue irises, seeing the tears of sorrow in his eyes.

Then the being speaks...

In a hideously demonic voice...

And it says only one phrase...

“An Eye For An Eye...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author Note - Here we are again...
> 
> So this is something I will also be doing in the background because I have been wanting to do a rewrite of Act 1 for a long time, there are so many things I want to change. The way I introduced Kassius was weak and I have wanted to change that for ages, the amount of time at Mistral before it falls, more development stuff, more Salem. Just a lot of things I have thought of that I can add that will not affect the story in the future that I cannot change now.
> 
> So if you are new to this series, you will get a fresh and (hopefully) perfect version of this act. Please review and let me know the things that you would like to see be improved, and please review to let me know how you think the improvements are going! There are many things that will change and be improved, but you can be assured the story will be the same and Act 3 is still my priority when it comes to developing the story. I just wanted to get this started up.
> 
> Ships in this story!
> 
> \- Arkos (Tragic Story)
> 
> \- Black Sun
> 
> \- Rose Garden (Forming At this Stage)
> 
> \- Ice Berg
> 
> \- Renora
> 
> \- Yang X O.C
> 
> I believe in developing characters well and making you fall for their relationships as well, and Kassius is a character who has been well received thus far! Hopefully that can continue!
> 
> And for a certain character who fans of this story already know the identity of shall make an appearance in the story this time, since I came up with him during Act 2 (fans will know who I am speaking of)
> 
> Please review and if you wish send me a message on things you think could be improved! I want Act 1 to be perfect at the end of the day, it is the start to the 6 Part series, it needs to be good!
> 
> Stay tuned and if you are new...well...get ready for one hell of a ride!
> 
> \- Matt!


	2. Haven Academy

**Ruby**

She had no idea what was to come in her life...the next five years...the chaos that would hit the World of Remnant...

But she was even less prepared for what would happen in merely five days.

“Jaune...” A soft female and regal voice whispers in a mysterious landscape that has formed around her, red skies stretch out across her head and a shattered lunar moon above her head. Ruby staggers back slightly with widened silver irises, examining the many dark charred trees that surround her. The air feels like it is stuffed with intense heat, as if there are fires that never cease to burn around them all. Smoke flows through the atmosphere around her, and the distant howls and screeches of Creatures of Grimm of all kinds echo everywhere. Nightmarish shrieks from a familiar monster resound nearby, the shriek of the Nuckelavee in particular. Ruby remains stood still in the middle of the ash covered charred forest that surrounds her, staring directly ahead when she hears the familiar voice once more. “Jaune...” Her voice repeats in a whispery voice, and Ruby sets her eyes on somebody stood amongst the cracked and carbonised trees. The black dust trails and crumbles from the trees, floating up into the air, but she knows who she sees.

She is a tall young woman with slender curves in her athletic body, long red hair tied back into a ponytail that hangs down her back. She wears Spartan-Like bronze and golden armour strapped around her body and appendages as she stares at her friend. She has large emerald eyes and a heart shaped face, her eyes staring directly at Ruby Rose who stands there, looking so alienated in this place. She turns and walks away from Ruby, and Pyrrha calls out her name with disbelief and desperation. “Pyrrha!” Ruby screams, her voice echoes endlessly throughout the domain that she is trapped in.

The Silver Eyed Huntress sprints after her, roses trail from her long red cape as she pursues her deceased friend who walks into the distance. Ruby does not even notice that the petals that trail from her cape have completely wilted away into dust, crumbling away as they rot away in the charred realm. Ruby keeps running and running, desperate to find her, but when she runs into the smoky cloud that Pyrrha had entered, she has completely vanished from her view. She pushes her heels into the ash suffocated soil to slow herself down, looking around fearfully to find her, wrists shaking erratically.

_How? How could she have just vanished like that?_

_Am I going crazy?_

_What is this place?_

The howl of the Nuckelavee’s Imp erupts from the ghostly forest once more, creating a jolt of terror in her bones. She staggers from the terrifying howl, spinning round to find the unnatural monster that they managed to kill only a few hours ago. Every time the Nuckelavee roars in the distance, it sounds like it is getting closer and closer. But as she tries to search for Pyrrha and also keep her eyes open for the location of the howling Nuckelavee...a familiar voice resounds around her.

And it creates an aching pain in her heart.

“This is going to be so much fun!” A gentle female voice whispers with an enthusiastic voice that speaks with such joy.

Ruby knows that voice...

Recognises it all too well...

It is Penny’s.

The voices of the damned echo and swirl around the young Huntress as she staggers around – as if she were lightheaded – still trying to locate her deceased friend. Hearing the sounds of electrical blood sparking from her severed corpse as she laid there on the ground, dead and destroyed from an accident created in the Vytal Festival Tournament. But Ruby keeps on sweeping those large round silver eyes of hers across the destroyed forest she has found herself trapped in, frantically trying to locate Pyrrha. But Penny’s ghostly voice is not the only one she hears echoing around her from the dark smoke that swirls across the field.

“This is the real world!” The distant memory of Roman Torchwick bellows, and Ruby spins around when hearing his voice. Behind her is the man himself, stood at approximately six feet and three inches high. His slanted, dark-green eyes glare directly at her with anger and his bright, long, orange hair, with long bangs covering his right eye swings with his rushing movements. Black eyeliner traced his visible left eye slightly smudged from the combat they engaged in.

Ruby almost forgot what Roman looked like; it has felt so long since he died despite it only being six months since he was swallowed whole by a Griffin. In which the Creature of Grimm did unintentionally save her life by eating him. Roman wore a red-lined white suit with long black pants and black shoes. His accessories included a small gray scarf, black gloves with buckled sleeves, and a black bowler hat with a small feather tucked into its red band.

Roman roared as he swung Melodic Cudgel towards her, just as he did when they fought each other atop Ironwood’s Dreadnaught. After Neo was taken away and was lost to them all, her whereabouts are still unknown to this day. Ruby flinches, closing her bright silver eyes and looking away, raising up her arms to shield her face from the attack. The ghostly figure bursts away into dust as he slams the cane against her head, but she felt absolutely nothing from the attack. Ruby staggers back slightly though from shock of seeing him again...clearly the Battle of Beacon has left more scars on her than just physically. She cannot stop thinking of her enemies as well as her friends that died that day.

She shakes it of pretty quickly, and she takes off running as fast as she can to find Pyrrha. But the further she runs, the longer the forest appears to become, stretching out endlessly before her eyes. As if it is some sort of ghastly projection that is unnaturally losing its focus in front of her, the trees stretch and the shrieks of Nevermores cry out as they glide overhead. Most likely plunging their talons and slamming their beaks into anything they spot moving beneath them. Ruby reaches to her belt to grab Crescent Rose, but she finds nothing there, only black space. She does not even have her bullet belt on her person for some reason, she gasps with shock when she sees that as well after hearing the screech of a Nevermore and a Nuckelavee at once. Ruby will need to use her wits and cunning to survive in this domain, if the things she hears are actually there or are just in her head.

But all she wants are answers to so many questions.

_Why am I hearing Pyrrha?_

_What is this place?_

_How do I get out of here?_

Ruby keeps on sprinting to find her friend; until in the corner of her eye does she spot the almost glowing red colour of Pyrrha’s hair. Ruby slams the brakes, pushing her heels into the soft ash coated dirt to slow down, and she spins round, staring directly in the direction of which she thought she saw Pyrrha standing.

But when she looks in her direction...

Pyrrha is gone again.

Like a ghost.

It is like some sick game of hide and seek, or cat and mouse that keeps on vanishing over and over again. Her eyes dart back and forth across the charred domain, breathing erratically to locate wherever Pyrrha is. She saw her, she knows that she did, she is not going crazy...is she? “Where are you?” Ruby softly whimpers with a trembling voice as she looks around the place, then she screams it out with desperation. “Pyrrha! Where are you?” She screams with horror, her voice echoing endlessly in the forest that stretches for miles in the spectral realm.

Her stance is broken when the roar of the Nuckelavee suddenly erupts directly behind her; she spins round to see the unnatural beast rearing up behind her. It kicks its front legs back and forth as it howls.

The Nuckelavee is a horse-like creature with an equine main body and a skinless humanoid creature that is fused with it. Its forelegs are shaped like claws and it has hoofed hind legs that leave a characteristic hoof print. The humanoid body has long curved horns on its head, a mouth that looks almost sewn shut, and two long elastic arms each with two clawed fingers. On the back of the human torso are bony spikes along its spine and a variety of weapons from previous battles stuck in it.

When walking on its equine legs, its attached humanoid portion hangs limp to one side, making its arms drag along the ground. Once the equine portion stops to stand still, only then does the humanoid portion of the creature become active, doing so with a spasmodic twitching movement. When enraged, the spikes on its spine lengthen, as do its horns, its pupils become vertical slits, and its mouth opens completely.

Its long arms drag across the ash coated soil, the clopping of its hooves echo as it lands back on all fours, making the ground shake from the landing. Raspy snarling breaths reverberate from its chest as it moves, marching onwards through the smoky domain. It is...almost like the monster cannot see her for some reason. Something glistens on the ground where the beast was stood, catching the eye of Ruby.

Her curiosity is piqued, and she slowly approaches it, wanting to understand what this little thing is that lays there. She walks towards it and she gasps when she sees what the glint shone from...it is Pyrrha’s golden circlet lying on the floor that she once wore around her crest. And the arrow that Cinder Fall had launched into her sternum lies right beside it; crimson warm blood stains the arrowhead which punctured her chest, steaming from the freshness of the blood. Ruby’s shaky gasp forms as she picks the circlet up with tears forming in her eyes, remembering the terrible sight of her friend disintegrating into golden ashes before her.

The circlet glows bright gold, as if heated up to the point of melting in her hands but she feels nothing at all. As if it had just vanished into thin air in a couple of moments. Ruby tracks the ashes that glow, floating away from her fingertips towards who stands before her. Her long red hair blows in the wind, looking as beautiful as ever. Her emerald eyes looking directly at her. Her tender and ceremonial voice whispers once more. “Jaune...” As if she is unable to let go of her crush.

But why communicate with Ruby if she is desperate for Jaune Arc?

Pyrrha suddenly vanishes in a puff of smoke before Ruby, and then she hears her voice again, nearby.

“Do you believe in destiny?” Pyrrha asks, her voice surrounds Ruby as she speaks, echoing across the Charred Forest which causes Ruby to grab her head in pain from how loud the endless cacophony of voices are.

Ruby runs round the corner, looking around more and more to find her, and then she sees Cinder stood there, drawing the bow and aiming it directly at Pyrrha, darkness surrounding her. Her eyes flushing with hate and power, fire leaking from them as she glares down at the pure girl at her mercy. Ruby takes foot, rushing over to help her, reaching out to her, her large silver eyes widen. Cinder releases the Bowstring, launching the glass arrow directly at Pyrrha, hitting her straight in the sternum. She yelps in agony and Ruby crumples to her knees again, sliding through the ghostly apparition of Cinder who stands there. She reaches out to the side of Pyrrha's head, Ruby watches as she is disintegrated away from Cinder's Fall Maiden Abilities, her embers breaking apart and being carried away into the Autumn Winds. Ruby remains on her knees; broken, knowing that she did not do everything that she could have to save her. She then looks up when she sees Pyrrha stood there, looking right at her. "Jaune! Help Me!" She cries out.

The voice echoes through her mind as the nightmare begins to collapse around her.

She gasps, returning back to the real world, silver eyes snapping open as her terror leaves her lungs and from her firm lips. She bolts upright from the fragranced and well cleaned bedding that caresses her slender frame, clutching the bed sheet close to her chest. She’s still wearing her clothes that she wore when she and the rest of Team R.N.J.R made their perilous trek across Anima. Some of her long black and red hair – still rather greasy from the lack of care from shampoo and a good shower – covers half her face. Ruby shudders as she holds her bed sheet close to her cheek, unable to shake the nightmare that she had just woke from. Sweat trickles from her pores due to the nightmare, body shaking as if she is in the icy cold land of Atlas.

She has had nightmares before... but nowhere near as intense as that one was. She looks around, in her room at Haven. The note that she wrote still sat on the table, the one meant for Yang. She then looks over to the balcony where her Uncle Qrow Branwen is stood, looking out at the majestic city of Mistral, of Haven Academy.

He has recovered from his wound that Tyrian inflicted upon him. Took some time with the medics, but they managed to solve the problem, enough equipment to handle the issue. He looks much better, no more sweat glistening on his skin and his colour is no longer pale from the poison that ran through his body.

Qrow turns when he hears his little niece gasp in shock like that when she wakes up. He walks over to her and he sits down on the edge of her bed. “Hey, pipsqueak.” He says, his gravelly voice being a kind reminder to Ruby that she is not dead.

Ruby sniffles slightly as she brushes her hair from her eyes and wipes the sweat from her brow, still a little rattled from that nightmare. “Yeah...I just had a –” Before she can finish Qrow finishes the sentence for her, he knows her so well.

“Bad Dream?” He presumes, gently caressing her knee with his hand.

Ruby looks at her uncle and eventually nods silently and timidly. Qrow smiles and he wipes the tear from her eye and puts his hand on her knee again. “What was it?” He asks her.

Ruby looks at him inquisitively.

“I...I um...” She nervously stumbles, her little voice fretfully breaking a little. “I was in a forest...It was dark, cold and hot at the same time. Burned...” She explains to him, still able to see the skyscraper tall charred trees that enveloped her view. “I could hear her, Uncle Qrow.” She softly reveals to Qrow. Her Uncle Branwen looks at her and he admittedly appears to be a little nervous.

“Who?” He queries his sweet little niece.

“Pyrrha...” She answers, remembering the regal tones in her voice. Qrow looks at her and he sighs, looking back out at the city.

Almost like there was some relief there for a second.

“She's trying to talk to Jaune...but he can't hear her.” Ruby tells him.

“Was that all?” Qrow asks her.

Ruby looks up at him and then she continues, because she knows this place must be important. She has suffered from nightmares on multiple occasions but nothing quite like that before. Never has she seen the Charred Forest before now, it must be important...it must be. “It wasn't just Pyrrha, I heard Penny as well. And I saw Torchwick as well.” Ruby lists with a shaky voice, hearing their voices and the monstrous screech again in her memory. “Gods, I even saw that Grimm...Horseman...thing.” Ruby stutters as she tries to find the name for the creature, not entirely sure of what the Nuckelavee was.

She does not even know what it’s name is, only that it killed Ren’s parents in front of him.

And now he has had his revenge at long last.

“The Nuckelavee.” Qrow corrects, thinking back to the many missions and examples of monsters that exist out there in the cold dark world that is Remnant.

“Knuckle-Who-Ha?” Ruby asks with a puzzled look. Qrow laughs a little at her adorable confusion, patting her knee.

“The Nuckelavee.” He repeats, a little slower this time so Ruby can hear each syllable clearly. _Nuck-El-Ah-Vee_ “I never fought with it before, but I heard tales of it from other Huntsman on my missions. No one had ever survived an encounter with it. And then you came along and claimed the title. Look at you, Nuckelavee-Slayer.” He says, rubbing his hand against her black and red hair. Ruby squirms as he does it and then she looks up at him, like a little puppy does when wanting attention.

Qrow smiles kindly to her. “It was only a bad dream, don't let it stick with you, kiddo.” Qrow assures her kindly. He stands up and gets off her bed, walking over to his sword, sheathing it onto the back of his belt. “Trust me, you don't want those kinds of thoughts in your life. Especially with everything that's happening.” Qrow explains to her, as if he speaks from experience.

“But...Uncle Qrow, it's the third time I have heard Pyrrha in my head. And I don't know why I hear her asking Cinder if she believes in destiny...did she say that before she...I never heard her say that! How can I be hearing that?” She mutters to herself, not even speaking to Qrow anymore. She presses her hands against her temples with distress. “What's wrong with me?”

“Hey?” Qrow says, looking her in the large rounded silvered eyes, she looks at his red ones in return. “There's nothing wrong with you, a little crazy yeah, but there is nothing wrong with you. There was nothing you could have done to save Pyrrha from Cinder, okay? By the time you got up there, it was over.” Qrow promises, assuring her.

Ruby smiles happily from his kind words.

“Okay...” She says. Qrow rights himself back up, towering above his niece.

“Alright...I'm gonna go take a walk.” Qrow informs, walking towards the door. “Go have a shower, wear some normal clothes, get those ones clean. Might as well, spend some time to rest while you can.” Qrow advises, patting her back as he walks past her and towards the door that leads into the hallway.

Ruby rolls her eyes. “Okay...” She sighs. “I prefer my hood though.” She whispers, holding the blanket over her body, pouting like a grumpy child.

“I heard that.” Qrow states aloud as he leaves the room, closing the door behind him. Ruby throws the sheets off and she stands up, walking away from the bed and to the table, her pen is still where it was and the letter has not been sent yet. She fell asleep when she finished it from exhaustion, and Qrow put her in the bed to let her be comfortable.

Ruby reads the letter.

 

_Hey Sis,_

_I hope my letters have been reaching you and dad. Handwritten stuff's never been super reliable, but I guess it's all we've got these days. Anyway, in case you haven't been getting them, I just want to say I'm sorry for leaving the way I did. I know you told me it was a reckless idea and after everything I've been through I can definitely say you were right._

_It's been hard, on all of us, and I'm not just talking about the monsters we've fought out here. Every step we made took us further and further away from the things we knew, and every morning we'd wake up wondering if just over the next hill we'd find something good, or something terrible. It's scary, not knowing what's going to happen next and the things we do know now, just how bad it can get, it almost makes it all worse. You told me once that "bad things just happen." You were angry when you said it, and I didn't want to listen. But you were right. Bad things do happen, all the time, every day. Which is why I'm out here, to do whatever I can, wherever I can, and hopefully do some good._

_We've all lost something. And I've seen what loss can do to people, but if we gave up every time we lost, then we'd never be able to move forward. We'd never have a chance to see what beautiful things the future might have waiting for us. We'd never have the strength to change, whether it's ourselves or the world around us. And we'd never be there for other people that might one day be lost without us. This is what we were training for, Yang, to become Huntresses, to be the ones to stand up and do something about all the bad in the world. Because there are plenty of people out there who are still lost, and even more who will try to gain everything they can from their sorrow._

_Believe me when I say, I know it can feel impossible, like every single day is a struggle against some unstoppable monster we can never hope to beat. But we have to try. If not for us, ~~then for the people we've already~~  then for the people we haven't lost yet._

_I miss you so much, I miss Weiss and Blake too. But I think you'd all be proud to know that I made it to Mistral, all of us did, and we even ran into Uncle Qrow along the way! He's going to take us to see Professor Lionheart, the Headmaster of Haven Academy. And he told us some things you're gonna want to hear, things I can't trust will make it to you in this letter. But maybe, if you joined us, he could tell you himself. With Beacon gone, they'll need Dad at Signal more than ever. And I know you'll need to focus on yourself before I can expect you to come out with me. But it sure would be great to get Team RWBY back together again._

_Until next time._

_Your Loving Sister,_

_Ruby Rose_

_P.S. I'll be sure to give you the address of where we're staying at Mistral. I'd love to hear back from you and dad, and I can't wait to fill you in on whatever's going to happen next! Now we've made it across Anima, I really think things are gonna start going our way._

 

Still hasn't actually put the address in, as Ruby always forgets in her letters.

A few minutes pass, around half an hour when she leaves the dorm and holds the letter in an envelope, wearing a smart set of Mistraalian Clothes. A beautiful looking dress with adorns reddish bronze colour woven through with velvet and silk which wraps around her body, showing one of her legs and one of her arms and shoulder. She also wears the shoes provided as well, walking out there, turning down the hall. She approaches the dorm next to hers, she knocks on the door gently. The door bursts open and an overly excited Nora leaps into Ruby's arms. “Ruby!” She squeaks with pure joy. Ruby screams as she falls onto the floor from Nora practically tackling her into a hug.

She looks over Nora, seeing Ren stood there with Jaune beside him. They both shrug.

“Nora, come on.” Ren says.

They are also wearing some Mistraalian clothes of similar colour scheme but unlike the female version, there’s seem more like that of a suit – Nora’s is the same as Ruby’s, since they are going to meet Professor Lionheart, might as well look the part. Inside their room, they have their weapons on each bed. Crocea Mors on Jaune's, Stormflower on Ren's and Magnhild leaning against Nora's.

Nora finally releases Ruby from her freakishly strong grip and she gasps for air. Ruby gets back up and Nora cracks her neck a little.

“Think I slept a little funny last night.” She says.

“Yeah...come on, Qrow's waiting for us.” Jaune says, walking ahead of them. Ruby watches Jaune, concerned about him as he just walks off.

He may never recover from losing Pyrrha.

 

**Weiss**

The aircraft soars over the sea that part between the Kingdoms of Mistral and Vale, glistening with light from the burning hot and bright sun which watches over the World of Remnant. The roar of its powerful afterburners echo across the huge space of ocean that stretches for miles.

She sits there on one of the crates, holding a refined fire dust crystal in her firm hands, gently rolling it between her fingers. Her long white hair still tied into an off-centred ponytail that dances down her back in her dress she wears. Weiss wears a short, glittering dress with a colour gradation of blue to pale blue at the hem, a sweetheart neckline, and a white, tulle petticoat.

A white ribbon is wrapped multiple times around her waist, and over the outfit is worn a slightly sheer long-sleeved blue shrug fastened at the collar with a large sapphire broach that has three pendants dangling from it. Printed on the back of the shrug is the Schnee Crest. Completing her attire are dark blue wedge heels and sapphire drop earrings.

She also has an alternate – or perhaps occasional – outfit, which follows the same design as her standard attire except for the skirt, which is floor length and split to her thigh on one side, and she wears chunky heels instead. The white ribbon has been removed from her waist, and she wears her hair and earrings in the same style, albeit her ponytail has grown out, now roughly reaching her knees.

She is a walking representation of defiance against her father at all times.

She sighs, setting the dust crystal back down in the crate that she is perched up on. Her large blue eyes flit down to the door to the cockpit of the ship. _Hard to believe I miss Ruby’s talkative nature...sure gets boring when you haven’t got someone as joyful as her._ She hops off the crate, and approaches the cockpit, tapping the button in order to open the door, walking inside of the ship’s control room. The pilot is sat in the centre of the cockpit in his leather chair, hundreds of controls littered around the room and beeping computers. None of it are of understanding to Weiss Schnee as she leans against the wall, crossing her arms.

The Pilot notices her and he looks at her, then at the sky again. “How far out are we from Mistral, may I ask?” Weiss inquires politely with a gentle voice – so different in every way to how she used to be when she first arrived in Beacon Academy.

“We’re coming up on the city now, just over these mountains.” The Pilot informs her, he then sighs with relief, slumping into his chair. “Been a long journey, hasn’t it?” He asks her with a sigh, and Weiss smiles as she looks down at the floor.

“It has...” She agrees.

“So – what do you plan to do in Mistral? I mean there are plenty of opportunities for a Schnee over there. You could run banks, buy a whole tonne of businesses and make a fortune.” The pilot explains as he flies the ship, but Weiss knows the reason she has come to this Kingdom. Although he is not wrong, if she came here for business, then she could make a lot of money.

“A tempting thought, but no. I am searching for my sister, I know she is in Mistral somewhere...I need to find her.” She informs and the Pilot chuckles.

“Well, good luck to you, I guess.” The pilot concludes.

The airship lands down at Mistral after it’s extremely long journey, the landing gear folding out and the thrusters cool down. Weiss turns and she leaves the cockpit to find her equipment that she needs. Her large blue eyes look around, Myrtenaster by her side at all times along with her case of dust crystals. She feels more confident with herself now after learning how to summon more effectively. She turns back to the cockpit, door still open, and she looks at the Pilot who managed to smuggle her here.

“Thank you!” She says to him, and he looks back at her and he smiles and nods.

“Take the back door, less conspicuous.” The Pilot advises and she turns to the back door, seeing it begin to open up for her. She turns back to the pilot and hears his last message. “Good luck, Miss Schnee. I hope you find your sister.” He says kindly as he closes his door. Weiss is stood inside, and ready to make her move now.

She can hear the sound of people outside attempting to open the cargo hold. She quickly retreats, opening the back door to get out. She looks around, and she grits her teeth in annoyance at her heels. “Damn things.” She whispers, grabbing them and taking them off for being so loud. She steps out and she jolts for a second from the extremely frosty floor. “Why can’t Winter go somewhere tropical?” She complains to herself, running quickly across the landing pad to get out of sight from the Mistraalian Soldiers that are searching the Cargo Hold. Weiss runs and keeps low to the ground as she flees from the ship that was her home for a few days.

She hides into one of bakeries nearby.

She crouches down, holding Myrtenaster tight, ready to fight if she must. The metal that has constructed the impressive blade rattles in her shaking wrist. She turns and she gasps, her eyes widen when she sees a young girl looking at her. Little almond shaped green eyes, dark brown hair with freckles on her face and the body of someone who has not been fed in days. Poor thing must be homeless; it breaks poor Weiss’ heart to see such a sweet little girl suffering on her own like this. She also is a Faunus, due to the fluffy brown fox tail she has. The Faunus are greatly discriminated here in Mistral, this Kingdom is the second most dangerous place for the Faunus to live due to the Atlesian Connection to this place. It may look beautiful, but Mistral is just as corrupt as Vacuo, perhaps even worse.

She nervously looks at the young Schnee. Weiss smiles sweetly and kindly to her, and she playfully shushes the little girl with her finger. “I’m in trouble, can you help me?” Weiss asks her. The little girl looks at her curiously. “Have you seen someone who looks like me?” She asks, and luckily there are not many women that share her looks and her white hair.

Especially not in Mistral.

The girl nods without speaking. “Where?” Weiss softly inquires with a smile, hopeful that she will find her quicker than she expected. The little girl points right at Weiss and the Former-Heiress sighs, burying her face into her palm. “No not me, you silly dunce!” She coldly retorts. The little girl recoils and Weiss immediately apologises, also something she would not have done six months prior. “Sorry, I've been told I'm quite mean.” Weiss apologises, remembering Ruby at times, missing her enthusiasm after the time she spent in Atlas with all those clueless people. “She's my older sister, looks like me but a little taller? Light blue eyes, white hair? Mean like me?” She asks her.

The little girl looks around and then she nods at Weiss with a smile on her face. “When? Where?” She hurriedly asks her.

The little girl points across the street, by some of the merchants that are speaking with the customers. Beggars litter the streets, but all are just as dangerous. They are all most likely rats and little birds that spy on the people of Mistral to the powerful who live in the lower levels of the Mountains. “She was over there.” The little girl says, finally speaking for the first time. “About an hour ago, asking for some food.” The little girl says. Weiss exhales with relief, although she does not seem to notice how strange it is for Winter Schnee – a dedicated and renowned soldier in the Atlesian Special Forces – is asking for food. Wouldn’t she just buy the food? She has the money, why would she become a beggar? She stands up and pats the girl on the head gently.

“Thank you.” She expresses her deepest gratitude to the girl.

“Wait.” The little girl says, catching Weiss' attention. “She looked hurt.” The girl warns Weiss. Her eyes erupt from their sockets in shock and desperation.

“What?” She exhales in fear. The little girl nods. “How bad?”

The little girl gestures to her side with her hands. “She had a big bandage; it looked like she was bleeding.” The girl describes for Weiss. She looks around, breathing in and out nervously. She looks to the little girl again and smiles.

“Thank you, and stay safe.” She implores to the youngling, taking off to the street. Weiss runs down the town and she looks around, Mistraalian civilians walking around the market everywhere and almost barging into one another, conversing with each other in the streets and purchasing goods. She constantly is looking for someone with white hair like she bears, or someone that is injured. If she was here an hour ago, then she couldn't have gone far. She keeps her eyes peeled, feeling on edge after abandoning her own family like that. Things seemed tense between Jacques and Ironwood before she left. She looks around frantically, until a familiar voice emerges from the crowd of people.

“Weiss?” The young male voice enquires.

The young man in question is a boy with tanned coloured skin, dark-blue eyes and messy light-blue hair that is shaved on the sides and in the back, also known as an undercut. He wears a white dress shirt and black tie under a black and blue jacket adorned with a wide, upturned, black collar, and a silver reticule across the back. Similar to the jacket he wore when they met him back at Beacon, just with his preferred colour scheme. He also sports a pair of gray jeans with black padding strapped to the sides, as well as black shoes fastened with straps instead of laces. Notable accessories within his attire include black fingerless gloves and a pair of yellow-tinted goggles

He looks at her, wearing his jacket and has his weapon on his back where it's always kept. He stands amongst the crowd, like a shining angel in Weiss' eyes. She runs towards him, he backs up and holds his hands up in the surrendering position. “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” He exclaims as he backs up against the wall. Weiss pushes her fingers to his lips, shutting him up. She gazes into his blue eyes, still amazed that it is him.

“Neptune?” She gasps, staring at him.

“Yeah?” He nervously responds with a muffle through her finger which is pressed to his lips. She slowly takes her finger from his lips but keeps looking around. She is not a fool – she knows how dangerous this place can be, especially for a young and pretty Schnee like herself. She could be ganged and robbed...or worse.

She needs help...

And he is the best she’s got left.

“I hate having to put you in this position, Neptune.” Weiss nervously whispers. He now stops joking around and starts listening to her words intently.

“What's up?” He asks her.

“I need your help.” Weiss states, which is a lot coming from her.

“Anything.” Neptune assures, looking quite serious now.

“I need to hide.”

“From who?”

“Atlas, I ran and Ironwood has shut the borders down. My father is out of control, he could be up to something really bad. I need to hide; I will tell you more when you hide me.” Neptune holds her hand gently and moves in front of her.

“Follow me.” He says to her. They both start walking through the crowd to avoid being seen by anyone, there could be Atlesian Spies in here, and the Schnee Daughter would be one hell of a bounty for Mercenaries to gain from. Every Beggar, every merchant, every passing civilian could be a spy who whispers to the Atlesians to track her down. Jacques Schnee is a powerful man – money is power, he claims – and only now does Weiss truly understand what that phrase meant. They continue through and Neptune holds her hand, pulling her into an alleyway. They both walk through and into another street.

“Where are we going?” Weiss asks him.

“Safehouse, in other words, my house.” Neptune answers, surprising the Former-Heiress.

“You have a house?” Weiss questions, tilting her head curiously.

“Yep, well, team S.S.S.N own it.” He points out, shrugging his shoulders. “Thought it would be a good plan for a temporary Safehouse.”

“Who came up with that plan?” Weiss enjoins, again out of her sweet curiosity.

“I did.” Neptune answers with a smile and a wink. They walk out and Neptune stays in front of Weiss in a protective stance. They walk out and a pair of mysterious men approach him, holding weapons in their hands.

“Halt, son.” The soldiers order. Neptune already knows that these are not Mistraalian Soldiers, they are Mercenaries disguised as them. They have tattoos underneath those clothes, one that he recognises the insignia of.

“Hey!” Neptune jokingly cheers, acting to them, patting one on the shoulder. “How have you been, I think I recognise you.” He says, looking at one of them. With his other hand, he points at the alleyway to their right and Weiss spots his subtle message it. She keeps her head down and casually walks into it. “Love the beard.” Neptune comments, poking the ginger beard of the soldier. But one of the Mercenaries espies Weiss fleeing and he yells.

“There's the Schnee brat!” The Mercenary yells.

“Ah, yeah. Good talk.” Neptune chortles with a smile, he swiftly grabs his trident and pulls it out, the weapon transforms into combat mode and he smashes it across both of the Mercenaries, launching them both into the market stalls beside them. Neptune sprints through the alley to Weiss. “Run for it!” Neptune exclaims, grabbing her hand and pulling her with him. She yelps as he yanks her with him. She manages to keep up with him and they sprint through, moving as fast as they can from the Mercenaries that pursue. Weiss peers back over her shoulder, seeing the two soldiers sprinting after them, their rifles have been smashed apart thanks to Neptune's attack that disarmed them.

But they are not giving up just yet.

“Don't harm the girl! Remember, the boss wants her in one piece!” The soldier yells to the other, sprinting through the alley to get to her. Weiss and Neptune both have the same idea, grabbing stalls and mounds of boxes and dropping them in front of the soldiers to slow them down. One of the soldiers stumble but the other manages to clamber across the stall as it falls and jump off it and keep up with them.

Weiss opens her case and grabs a Dust Crystal, loading it into Myrtenaster, she turns back and she forms a glyph behind her, one that launches ice directly at the soldier. The soldier yells in pain when one of the icicles hits him the shoulder, knocking him off his feet and onto the floor. He rolls across the floor and the other soldier charges right past him after getting out of his previous predicament. They continue to rush down the alleys; Neptune accidentally bumps into a lady whose minding her own business.

“Sorry!” He calls back to her. The soldier begins to gain on the two of them and Neptune looks ahead, seeing a puddle of water. He drifts round it, from his fear of water and he waits until Weiss is past it. He holds his Trident in both hands, charging electricity into it and waiting until the Soldier is close enough.

The soldier's foot goes into the puddle and he slams the electrical end of his Trident into the water, charging water straight through the puddle and into the body of the soldier. The soldier screams in pain as the electricity cooks him. Neptune removes his Trident from the water, looking back at the soldier who falls onto the floor. He runs and grabs Weiss' hand, pulling her along. “Shocking, huh?” He asks, trying to impress her with a pun.

Weiss groans, rolling her eyes in disgust at his attempt of a pun, reminding her of Yang all over again.

Perhaps some things never change.

They continue to run; unaware of the soldier that has his radio on still. They continue to run until Neptune sees a bunch more soldiers getting closer and closer to where they are. "Neptune?" Weiss whispers nervously. Neptune looks around and he pulls Weiss behind a building. They hide behind it and they wait for the soldiers to pass. Weiss watches one of them, he is holding a Military Grade Assault Rifle in his hands, running through the street. Neptune quietly whistles down to her.

He reaches down to her after climbing up the small building, using a dumpster as a platform. But Weiss is much smaller than he is, so he wants to help her, as he always does. Weiss nods and she climbs up the Dumpster and then jumps up, grabbing onto his hand. Neptune hauls her up with all of his might to get her up there. She lands on his chest and he smirks at her, winking. Weiss sighs, standing back up.

“My hero.” She whispers sarcastically.

“So beautiful...” He says to himself quietly.

Whether or not Weiss heard him or not doesn't matter, because she is too preoccupied right now to let her personal feelings for him take over, and yet he is having the time of his life. Weiss kicks his shoulder. “Ow.” He whispers, grabbing her arm. Weiss gestures with her head to get him to stand up.

He stands up beside her, looking around.

“How far from the house?” She asks him.

Neptune waves her over to an area in the buildings.

“This way.” Neptune says, walking up some stairs. Ahead is the house and Weiss scoffs from surprise. It is no mansion but it is still impressive for a teenager to afford.

“I'm impressed.” Weiss says with a smile.

“Thought you'd like it. N-Not to imply I bought it for you.” He says nervously, scratching the back of his neck. Weiss smiles, tilting her head at him, walking towards it. He sighs and follows her. He fits the key into the house and opens it, letting her inside first. He looks around, checking for any signs of Mercenary Activity nearby.

It's clear, and he closes the door, locking it.

 

Some time passes...

He ignites the fireplace and Weiss sits down in one of the chairs. He gives Weiss a blanket that he found. “Here, you must be cold in that dress.” He says to her with a smile on his face. Weiss returns the smile with her own one, taking the blanket and wrapping herself up in it.

“Thank you, Neptune.” Weiss gently whispers. Neptune sits down next to her. “Where's Scarlet and Sage?” She asks him.

“They went out to get some food. I was gonna go find them, but then I think I saw an angel.” He flirts.

Weiss blushes.

“Shut up.” She shyly says with a smile.

Neptune smiles back, leaning backwards into his chair.

“So...what'd you do?” Neptune asks her with a smile.

Weiss looks at him sharply.

“Huh?” She responds.

“Come on, you must have done something bad if Atlas has hired Mercs to hunt you.” Neptune says.

“Like I said, Ironwood locked Atlas down, no one in, no one out.” Weiss explains.

Neptune chuckles.

“And they still couldn't keep you penned up?” He says with a smile on his face. She looks at him and smiles back. “What happened to all that Schnee Dust Company Heiress stuff?” He asks her, and obviously no one but Weiss really knows about what happened. Weiss looks down, almost like she is ashamed of herself. Neptune clocks on immediately. “Hey...what's up?” He asks her.

She wipes a tear from her eye, sniffling a little. He gets up from his chair and goes to her side, crouching down beside her. “What happened?” He asks.

She looks him in his sapphire blue eyes. “He took it from me. Weiss says to him.

“What?” Neptune questions.

“My father!” She yelps, slapping her arms against the arms of the chair. “I got mad because I heard an Atlas Citizen talking about Beacon like they had it coming. Saying they deserved it...” Weiss remembers. “Pyrrha didn't...Penny didn't.” Neptune looks down sombrely, still haunted by those names, and then looks back at her.

“I never did say...” Neptune says. “I'm sorry...she was a kind a good friend. And Penny as well.” He continues. "Ozpin...”

“We will get revenge.” Weiss assures.

“One day. And I'll be right beside you.” Neptune promises.

“Anyway, I couldn't take being in Atlas any longer than I was already there for. My father took my title and gave it to my brother, who wanted it all along. I trained my glyphs...” She says, showing her glyph in her hand for Neptune. Neptune scoffs in amazement at her semblance.

“How'd you get out?” Neptune asks her.

“A friend...his name is Klein. He got me out of there and showed me a secret passage. I hope he's okay. I bribed a Cargo Shuttle Pilot to take me here, and here I am. Didn't expect to be hunted down by Mercenaries though. Who are they?” Weiss asks him.

“Don't know. New bunch, showed up recently. A lot of them as well, some sort of new Mercenary Group...perhaps. I’ve lived here all my life, seen countless mercenaries, but none as well funded as these guys. I knew those soldiers were Mercs because of the tattoo.” Neptune explains. The tattoo was a Grimm Skull with a sword through it. “Whoever's paying them though, they must be rich.”

“It must be my father.” Weiss says with a sigh.

“Well. Don't worry, Weiss, I've got your back.” Neptune promises. She smiles at him and they look each other in the eyes, with a longing. They both lean closer to kiss, to embrace each other.

Until the door bursts open and Scarlet David and Sage appear.

Scarlet has red hair that comes down over his right eye, with a complete undercut. There are several red markings around his left eye. He wears a green, mulberry, navy colour feather earring on his left ear, and has a red military pelisse-like jacket draped over the left side. He also wears a gray bandanna around his neck. On his right hand, he wears a fingerless glove, and on his right bicep, he has a gray band. He wears a white sleeveless shirt and light gray pants. He also wears a pair of long, brown, laced boots. Around his waist, he wears a brown belt and a slightly slanted gray belt that his weapon holster is attached to.

Sage is a teenage boy with dark skin and yellow eyes. His hair is sage green, and he appears to have tattoos of wings on his chest and tattoos of Roman numerals, matching those on his sword around his neck. He wears a white long coat with asymmetrical sleeves, a green wing design similar to his tattoos and no shirt underneath, displaying his tattooed chest. His jacket also has a golden pauldron on his right shoulder and a golden cuff around his left wrist. He also wears a pair of dark pants fastened by a white belt with a yellow buckle.

“Sorry we took so long –” Scarlet David says, stopping and seeing them both. They both recoil away from one another and they both stare in the exact same way at Scarlet and Sage. Both with emotionless expressions and hands nowhere near each other. “Oh...Oh I see what's happening here.” Scarlet says with a smirk.


	3. The New White Fang

**Blake**

 

Weeks prior...

“We're not going to destroy the white fang...

We're going to take it back.”

One week prior to the rebellion's uprising against Adam and his loyalists.

The Young Woman is a fair skinned young girl with amber eyes and long, black hair that hangs down her back. She wears a long white tailcoat with dark gray lining and a sleeveless black crop top. The crop top has rectangular and diamond shaped cut-outs around the neckline. Additionally, she wears a white belt over black fitted pants.

Across her torso is a diagonal strap that contains a smaller magnetic clip used to sheathe her weapon – Gambol Shroud. She wears thigh-high black heeled boots with gold-coloured edging around the top. The left boot has a belt wrapped twice around the thigh. Each boot bears her belladonna emblem in white on the outer side of the thigh, and a white pouch is attached to the back of her belt.

Blake Belladonna looks to them all as she speaks.

She is sat in a room with three others who look at her quizzically at her statement there. There is Sun Wukong...He is a tan-skinned boy with short spiky light-blonde hair and sapphire blue eyes in his sockets. He wears two red wrist bracers over black fingerless gloves and an open loose-collared white jacket with no shirt underneath, displaying his muscular physique. He also wears blue cargo pants tied up with a white belt. He wears white bandages on his legs and has a chain hanging from the belt loop on the right side of his pants.

He sports black and yellow sneakers and wears a twisted golden necklace around his neck, which is connected together by a black cord, with a round pendant bearing his monkey emblem. As a result of his Faunus lineage, he has a long prehensile monkey tail the same colour as his hair. Sun also hides his weapon under the back of his shirt.

Her most loyal and trusted friend...and perhaps more. She would be lying if she was not starting to develop feelings for Sun Wukong; he has never let her down and has always had her back when things went south. He even took a round for her, well a charged up whip that stabbed into his shoulder, but it still stands out. He now has a scar on his shoulder where Ilia Amitola plunged the whip into his shoulder, and Kali did him the pleasure of cleaning and sewing up his shirt so then it was no longer damaged.

There is Ghira Belladonna, Blake’s father. Ghira is a tall, muscular man with black hair, a beard and yellow eyes. For his top, he wears an open dark violet coat with white fur trim, exposing his hairy chest. Over his beige pants is a matching sash that wraps around his waist and is secured with a large, silver metal buckle. On the shoulder of his coat is a silver metal spaulder, which through a pair of curved strips across the chest attaches as a clasp on the opposite front panel of the coat. The white toes of his black leather boots have a shape reminiscent of paws with claws at the tips. His physique is in general quite hairy, as what little can be seen of his bare arms and the backs of his wrists are shown to be covered in thick, black fur.

And finally there is Kali Belladonna, Blake’s mother. As a cat Faunus with black hair and yellow eyes, Kali shares several physical features with her daughter. She has short hair and three gold piercings on her cat ears - two on her right, one on her left. She wears a black hakama and sandals with white tabi socks. Over her outfit, she wears a black shrug with a long right sleeve and a short left sleeve, gold leaf trim adorning the opening on the front. She wears long, black arm warmers that extend to the middle finger. The left warmer has a purple band tied around the top and a pair of gold bangles around the wrist. Around her waist is a black and gold sash that trails behind her, with a gold flower-shaped buckle at the end.

Blake’s Small Council...

The three of them stare at her with confused expressions shown on their faces. “Come again?” Sun asks her, looking up at her as she is stood up. Blake looks down to Sun.

“The White Fang weren't always a bunch of fanatical terrorists, Sun.” Blake begins. “We were once a force that aimed for Equality...not what Adam has turned it into.” Blake continues further, walking away from the sofa and to the window that overlooks Menagerie. She looks back at the three who trust her the most here. “We need to put it right, show the world who we truly are.” Blake says, hand on her heart. Sun looks at her parents and they look at her.

“Sweetheart, we cannot take on an entire army by ourselves. We are not a kingdom, we are just an Island. An island of Faunus who had enough of fighting a long time ago.” Ghira explains honourably with his powerful voice.

“Maybe...but we have Sun and me.” Blake says, pointing out Sun.

“Two Hunters cannot take on an entire army.” Kali points out as well, still looking out for her daughter’s safety, and Sun’s at the end of the day.

“We don't have to take on an army.” Sun suggests.

The attention now hopping over to him. He stands up and picks up the Scroll on the table that belonged to Ilia Amitola. He opens up a folder which shows some information, including a set of coordinates on Menagerie. “I saw it when you put the scroll down.” Sun says to Ghira. “We don't have to hunt down and fight every last White Fang; rather we should be hitting the outpost that they have here. It's a small island; it won't be like a giant fortress.” Sun explains to them all.

Ghira stands there, scratching his chin. “We could take those who could still be swayed under our flag.” Ghira agrees.

“Exactly, we hire some mercenaries to help us fight and any warriors here that are loyal to you.” Sun explains. Ghira starts laughing at something that Sun said. Sun looks at Ghira with a confused expression. “What did I say?” Sun asks Blake.

Blake shrugs, lifting an eyebrow.

“I'd hate to burst your bubble, son, but there are no Mercenaries here in Menagerie.” Ghira states.

Sun points at Ghira on the other hand.

“You might think that, but there are Mercenaries everywhere, believe me.” Sun states. “When I was walking around Menagerie, I saw people baring the marks of Mercenaries, I grew up in Vacuo, remember? Mercenaries always tattoo their symbols on their necks, it’s a trademark thing around those times. And I saw quite a few Faunus Mercs wandering around.” Sun illustrates, speaking with experience from living in Vacuo and Mistral, both prime locations for Mercenaries to reside opposed to Atlas and Vale.

“How have we not known this?” Kali asks rather sternly, as if she has just learned of a betrayal amongst their ranks, clenching her hands into fists.

“Mercenaries like to keep a low profile.” Sun states. Ghira looks at him, knowing that he is holding something back. Ghira narrows his eyes and it is enough for Sun to cave in from such a huge man glaring down at him like that. “I had a friend once; he was a Mercenary as well. He never came back from a mission, and my friends Scarlet and Sage were once Mercenaries too. Tattoos, not on the neck though.” Sun explains to Ghira and Kali.

“How would we even convince them to help us?” Blake asks him which leads to the chortling of Sun appearing. He takes out a lien cards from his shirt and holds it in between both fingers, smirking at her.

“Pretty easily, actually.” Sun says, putting it back in his pocket. Ghira stands there, and he is all in for the Rebellion Idea, but Kali is a little uncertain. “Putting out a bunch of notices that state that there is a payment for their services will make them fight for us. And if there are any warriors here who trust you, then they need to help as well.” Sun explains, showing his tactician side...which Blake really seems to be fond of.

“What is the purpose of this mini-army?” Kali asks him.

“A distraction. They keep most of the White Fang busy whilst Blake and I sneak round the back and take out Adam.” Sun answers, sounding quite cold about it. He is willing to sacrifice lives so then two people can kill one man.

Blake stares at him, how hard he is fighting to help her take the White Fang down, but in this case it is to reclaim it and return them to who they truly are.

“What if he isn't there?” Kali asks him, an obvious question as well.

“Then we find out where he went and we hunt him down. The guy has to pay for what happened at Beacon. And for what he did to Blake.” He snarls with anger when just thinking about what Adam did to her, he looks at Blake and can see the scar on her stomach where he stuck Wilt and Blush into her to trigger Yang. Blake smiles warmly at him and he smiles back, turning back to her parents.

Ghira chuckles, scratching his brow.

“It won't be easy.” Ghira warns.

“Nothing worth it ever is.” Blake says, agreeing with Sun. Ghira turns to Kali, and she nods. Ghira looks at Sun.

Ghira smiles.

“I'm starting to like you, Mr Wukong.” Ghira says.

Sun smiles, finally feeling like he did something right in front of her father.

 

**Yang**

Eight hours after the death of the Nuckelavee...

Logs are piled up within a circle of stones that have been collected, flames dancing and growling within. Popping cracks burst from the wood as the heat from the flames cooks them right through, faint smoke rising from the golden blades of fire. The wood glows and glimmers like magma as the fire chars it slowly, generating plenty of warmth to its user. The Fractured Moon hangs above her head, chunks of it slowly floating away from the moon over many, many years. The coos of Owls and the chirps of midnight crickets resound in the forest she has found her home in for the night.

There is  a fair-skinned young girl with lilac eyes and bright golden hair worn loose that fades to pale gold at the tips with a cowlick sticking out at the top. The maiden is wearing a tan jacket with orange lining and gold edging, unzipped halfway to show an orange crop top and her belly button. The coat has darker brown short sleeves, a thick collar that completely encircles her neck, and two long gold-trimmed detachable rectangular tails. She also wears fitted black pants, and her hair has been let down again like her original outfit which she has grown out of over the years.

Her new outfit also looks far more mature, than what she used to wear.

Around her hips and over the tails of her coat is a brown belt, which has two pieces of dark brown material trimmed in gold attached to it. The first covers from her left hip to the back of the belt and is folded over the belt, and the second is attached from the right hip and almost around to the other piece of material. She wears knee high brown boots with gold caps on the heel and toe, with the heel cap attaching to a gold strap across the front of her ankle, and a gold zipper on the upper half of the front of the boots. A single small buckled strap is on the upper outside of her boots, and a purple bandana tied around her left knee. A pair of black fingerless gloves with long brown cuffs reaching to mid forearm completes the outfit.

The girl’s name is Yang Xiao Long, a stunningly beautiful young woman and Huntress, who has lost a lot in recent months.

Her arm...

Two close friends...

Her best friend abandoned her...

And her sister left to fight in somebody else’s war once more. Only now deciding to follow her, but she looks tired with bags under her eyes which have formed from a long and tiresome journey into the wilderness of Anima. She cannot be too far from Mistral now; she is surrounded by mountains and has come across many caravans with wares to sell.

Yang is sat by the flames, throwing some sticks into the flames and pushing some with a thicker twig to allow more oxygen to enter the lungs of the fire. She has her legs crossed on the sleeping bag she brought with her. She also appears to have caught, killed and poorly skinned a squirrel. She allows it to cook over the fire so then it is safe to eat, and she sighs, lying back down on the sleeping back, her human arm behind her blonde head. Her large, gorgeous lilac eyes gaze longingly up at the clear sky.

Not a cloud shrouds the beauty of the stars and the cosmos that their lonely world lives in. So peaceful, the skies are not jet black but are in fact filled with beautiful auroras of colour. Reds, oranges and purples float in space of cosmic dust, forming the billions of twinkling stars that glisten across the night sky. It just seems so peaceful...so beautiful up there in the loneliness of space itself.

Yang raises her other arm up, the light from the flames gleams off the metal plates that make up her prosthetic, after the loss of her arm from Adam Taurus in the Battle of Beacon. She is starting to understand her arm; getting to know it – in fact – she can actually feel with it as well. Her nerves have actually joined with the wiring inside of the arm, which is incredible because most prosthetics would never allow this sort of thing. She flexes her fingers back and forth, listening to the sound of the mechanics and joints inside that move so effortlessly. It is beautiful, and she loves it more that she has customised it so then it suits her by painting it black and yellow...but...it is still not the same as her other arm. Whenever she touches it, she feels a cold steely fingerprint against her skin, instead of the warmth of her own hand.

Yang sighs, clenching her hand into a fist and lowering it back down beside her, and she turns to her bag that she has taken off from her shoulder, and she reaches into it. She still has her scroll, and she flicks it open, looking inside...seeing the photograph the four of them took before the Vytal Festival. There’s Ruby looking really happy as she gave the _peace_ sign, Weiss looking neutral happy, as if she was just smiling to get it over with, herself as buzzing as ever with her fist in the air...and then...Blake...

Yang struggles to look at her the same way now, they were once best friends, but now after she abandoned her. Never even seemed to check up on her...she feels like a stranger to her, Weiss doesn’t, mainly because she did not have a choice. She was ripped from making her goodbyes because of her father and the Atlesian Military. There was nothing she could have done...but Blake...she just ran...as she always did before.

She sighs heavily, shutting her eyes and pushing the picture back into her bag, with the one that has the pictures of Raven, Taiyang, Qrow and Summer when they were their age. Yang breathes slowly as she feels her arm shaking with fear, having to stop it with her cybernetic hand.

“Excuse me?” A man speaks, Yang’s eyes burst open and she gasps, sitting upright swiftly and activating her single Ember Celica on her Human Arm, not aiming it at him, but ready to attack if she must. The threat of Bandits attacking her at night is not uncommon; she is in the wilderness after all and is a very attractive young woman. That makes her a target unfortunately, but she can handle herself.

However the man that has found her does not look like a dangerous person. He appears to be a humble merchant, shaven head and brown eyes. The man has defining black “s” shaped eyebrows over his eyes and has a stubble, not clean shaven but also not grown out, more of a shadowy affect to him. The middle-aged looking man wears a tanned overcoat with a weathered white shirt underneath; the coat is not huge and has many pockets that must have all sorts of goods in them. He has a hood made of leather around his neck, separate to the coat that he wears and carries multiple pouches on his belt and vials attached to his trousers at thigh height.

He wears blue jeans and thick leather brown boots and has a pair of pouches with slings that cross over each other, the one on the right has multiple scrolls, and the one on the left appears to have vials of some kind. The Merchant has a pouch of coins held by string around his neck, hanging down to the centre of his chest. Strange, considering coins are no longer a valid form of currency, perhaps to sell them to get some lien? His coat has sleeves that reach up to his wrists, with three blue stripes around them at the bicep and at the wrist before the sleeve ends, same on both sides.

His voice is rather inviting, his hands held humbly close together above his waist, looking at Yang. He cautiously emerges from the shadows, appearing in the warmth and the light of Yang’s campfire. It appears she is not the only person on the road right now. Yang glares at the Merchant, still not overly trusting of him. “Who are you?” Yang asks him nervously, ready to take him down if he tries anything. Although that is not why he came here, he is merely a merchant.

“Apologies, ma’am, my name is Vincent Reeve. I am a Merchant by trade...I have been on the road for quite a long time on my own. I was just going to ask if you would mind a humble merchant sharing your fire?” Vincent asks her timidly, and Yang disengages her weapon, but keeping her eyes on the forests. Raiders and Bandits have been known to use seemingly innocent Merchants as traps before they rob and slaughter somebody. But he appears to be genuine by his sincerity towards her.

Yang smiles kindly, and nods her head, laying across the bed she has made from her sleeping bag, with her arm rested up against her head as she looks at the dancing and crackling flames. Yang flicks her hand across the blonde hair that droops over one of her eyes, throwing it back into her gorgeous locks of golden hair. Vincent sits down and crosses his legs, warming his hands at the fire, exhaling cold clouds of air from his mouth. He looks at the young woman and smiles with a chuckle. “Beautiful night, isn’t it?” He asks her, and Yang’s eyes rise back up to the stunning sky above their heads.

“Yeah...reminds me of the nights back home at Patch.” Yang tells him, able to visualise the stunning skies that formed every single night. She can actually see it as she closes her eyes, the calming breeze of cool air against her younger skin, tooting owls and Ruby asleep in her arms. Even when she was older than a baby, Ruby would always snuggle up to her sister at night. Vincent looks at her, hearing that she is from patch so he asks her about that.

“You’re from Patch?” He asks her, she opens her large eyes and nods to him.

“Yup.” She confirms, with a gentle smile on her face.

“Never been there...what’s it like?” Vincent inquires curiously, rubbing his hands together as the embers burst from one of the logs that burn before him. Yang exhales and small cloud of wind, turning her eyes to the flames, which reflect on her eyes.

“A small island, but beautiful. Endless fields of green grass over the hills that are there like oceans...forests everywhere...” Yang remembers, missing the smell of the mornings that she became so used to. Now it would probably seem alien to her, from how many places she has ventured to on her quest to find Ruby.

“Sounds beautiful.” Vincent says with a smile, lowering his hands to his side, looking at the flames as well. It is almost like he is mesmerised by the flames, at their purity and the way that they dance before him like performers on stage. But then the question comes to mind, he raises his black brow and turns to her again. “Wait, if you’re from Patch...then what are you doing all the way out here in Anima?” Vincent inquires, noticing that this is quite strange. A girl as beautiful as her should not be out in the wild on her own like this. It is extremely dangerous to do that, especially out here in Anima from the amount of Bandits that wander the roads.

“I’m looking for my sister.” Yang answers, rubbing her hands together as she warms her body up from the cold, despite her cybernetic prosthetic not requiring the warmth, the rest of her body does. Vincent continues to look at her as she answers him, then yet another question comes to mind.

“I’ve been selling my wares to adventurers in Anima for years...I haven’t seen people your age out here before. Let alone women on their own.” He warns, and she smiles as she looks at him, lifting up her cybernetic arm.

“I’m a Huntress – I can handle myself.” She assures, turning back to her campfire. The smell from her cooked squirrel fills her nostrils and brings her so much relief, she picks up the stick that the creature has been impaled onto and she begins to eat the creature. He reaches into one of his pouches and pulls out some rationed food. Most Merchants do tend to eat rations, they are easy and cheap to come by, and do not require cooking to be eating without causing harm to the body. At least these ones do not; the ones from Vacuo are a little bit riskier. Yang takes a big bite from the side of the Squirrel’s body, plunging her teeth into the cooked meat and ripping some of it off.

She does not even act like a _lady_ would; she just rips chunks of meat from the squirrel’s cadaver and eats it there. Yang has always been a bit of a tomboy though; perhaps it is just in her nature to eat foods in that sort of way. She swallows it and wipes some of the charred pieces from her lip, eating more of it where she sits, keeping her hair from getting in the food. “A little young to be a Huntress, aren’t you?” Vincent asks.

“Well...the school I was training at to be a Huntress is now overrun with Grimm – so – yeah...” Yang says nonchalantly.

“You trained at Beacon Academy?” He asks her.

“Yeah...was there when it all fell apart.” Yang answers, and it was at that moment the deeper part began to form. And somehow she knew it was coming.

Vincent looks at her more, and it is almost like he recognises her somehow. “Where have I seen your face from?” He asks her, she stops in her tracks from eating, eyes frozen in place and her blood feels like it has stopped circulating when he asks her that question. She turns her head to look at Vincent, seeing him staring at her face to figure it out.

There is a long silence between the two travellers; only the distant coos of Owls around them can break the silence as he tries to figure it out. Yang takes another bite from the squirrel, and then she hears him figure it out. He leans back and lifts his head, still looking at her attractive face. “I remember now...” He says, and she sets the squirrel on her lap with a sigh. “You’re Yang Xiao Long, aren’t you?” Vincent asks her, and she sighs, looking at him.

It takes her a minute to bring herself to actually confirm his suspicion. “Yes.” She answers, knowing why he remembers her face and how he remembered it.

“You were in the Vytal Festival Tournament...you were that Finalist...” He remembers, and she closes her eyes, able to see the hallucination that Emerald planted in her head. The hallucination of Mercury attacking her at the end of the fight, which inevitably lead to the breaking of his leg.

“That broke Mercury Black’s leg, yes I know.” She sighs, staring at the flames again, the light that forms from the dancing flames shines upon her fair skin on her face. The shadows dance across her as she sits there, staring at the flames with regret for ever doing what she did. She still feels like it could be her fault for what happened, the way everyone became so scared and alerted the Grimm to converge on the School. Despite it being the death of Penny that truly brought the monsters to their walls and killed so many people that fateful day. Vincent looks at her, and he can see the pain in her eyes – Yang leans forward and pushes her hands through her hair, gripping the blonde locks.

“Why did you do it?” Vincent inquires curiously, and she stares at him with confusion.

“Why?” She asks him, she still could not get over the feeling of such betrayal when the guards turned those guns towards her. The hallucination looked so genuine and it was in his personality to do something like that. But when she saw the real footage of her striking him in the back of the leg, breaking it in the process...that was the final straw for her. The one that truly messed her up the most, and losing the arm just made it all worse. “I – I don’t know how to describe it...I saw him go for me, he tried to attack me when my guard was down...so I attacked back.” Yang explains, and Vincent shakes his head.

“That’s not what the world saw.” He points out.

“I know that’s not what the world saw...but it’s what _I_ saw.” Yang explains with a heavy sigh, and Vincent twiddles a twig in his fingers.

It appears that Vincent drops the subject and changes it to something else, because that story clearly appears to be tough on Yang’s emotions. “Well...I’m on my way to Mistral. Got some goods I want to turn into the Black Market down there.” He tells her, and Yang raises her brow. She knows that the Black Market is illegal, so it is quite worrying that this man is headed there.

“It’s illegal.” She states, and he shrugs his shoulders.

“I’ve always looked at law as more of a guideline – you break it you pay the consequence if you get caught – and the Black Markets here are more accepted than in Vale.” He explains to her.

“What kind of goods are you carrying?” She asks him inquisitively.

“Exquisite pieces from some of the destroyed ancient cities around here, found some valuable artefacts along the way.” Vincent explains, reaching into the coin purse around his neck. He pulls out one of the golden coins, one he must have polished himself since it glows as the firelight reflects off it so effortlessly. He flicks the coin over to her and it dings with a long ring, and Yang catches it, looking down at it in her palm. She does not see many coins very often due to the new exchange rate, but this is much, much older than any that came before she was born. This is ancient, made from pure gold itself, with markings she does not recognise and the face of a man looking quite proud on it.

“Where’d you find this?” Yang inquires.

“One of the Ancient Abandoned Cities in Anima, called Ephai. Would have stayed if it weren’t for the amount of Grimm that lurked there. Lost six Mistraalian Knights when we were there.” He explains, and Yang throws the coin back to him. It could be worth a lot, but it’s of no use to her. She only wants to find her baby sister and make sure she is safe, that is all that matters to her.

“Well good luck – hope you make some money off it.” Yang hopes.

“As do I, sweetheart, as do I.” He says with a chuckle, Yang’s eye twitches when he calls her _sweetheart_ , since the last guy that called her that suffered a case of crushed balls and a smashed up Nightclub. But he is a nice guy, so she lets that pass, and she sets her roast squirrel down on the floor. Already finished with it and feeling full up to go to sleep. But she does not want to go to sleep yet...the starry night is just too beautiful to turn away.

Vincent looks at her and then notices Bumblebee parked up against the tree next to her, and he looks at her.

Being Yang's personal bike, it shares her yellow-themed colour scheme. It appears to be a sport bike, with a design emphasizing speed and aerodynamics.

The sides of the engine compartment include supercharger intakes; a close view of the rear wheel whilst the vehicle is in motion shows a complex high-ratio gearing in operation. These all indicate that the bike has a very powerful engine and the capability to use that power efficiently.

In an interesting variation on the motorcycle design, Bumblebee does not have a kickstand for balance when it is parked. This suggests that it may use some form of gyro-stabilization or have an as-of-yet-unseen and unspecified non-physical stabilizing system to keep it upright when stationary. “That’s an impressive motorcycle, how did you afford it?” He asks her.

“Didn’t buy it – I made it.” Yang answers with a smile, surprising him even further.

“You made that?” He asks her.

“Yup, we had an old junkyard not far from Signal Academy. I would go there every day with my sister and a good friend of mine, and we’d pick pieces up and take it back home. My sister never really helped, she was too confused by it...but...my friend...he always helped me out.” Yang explains to Vincent. The Merchant looks at her, his legs still crossed as the heat from the fire warms him up.

“Boyfriend?” Vincent presumes.

“Not at first...we dated for a few months before he left for Haven. He got accepted there instead of Beacon. I haven’t heard from him since I left for Beacon.” Yang explains, remembering it rather well.

“Well, if you ever give up on being a Huntress, you’ve already got a second career opportunity open.” Vincent chuckles, pointing at the Motorcycle with his twig. Yang giggles softly, looking at her motorcycle again. It has been a very loyal friend to her that bike, and it will always be one of her proudest achievements.

“She is in need of a tune-up, though...” She mumbles.

“Huh?”

“Nothing.”

Yang remains laid by the fire with her new companion, although she has no idea if he will be there come morning. “There is a Gas Station not far from where we are; maybe you could go there to get some fuel.” Vincent suggests, and Yang looks at the bike again, remembering that she is rather low on fuel. She takes out her wallet and checks how many lien cards she still has on her. She has enough to pay for fuel – as long as nobody mugs her in the night.

“I’ll be sure to do that in the morning.” She agrees. The pops in the burning wood is so soothing to Yang in the night time, hearing the occasional hoot from an owl from the trees.

“Is your sister a Huntress too?” Vincent asks her.

“Yeah...she’s the leader of our team...before...well...” Yang sighs, thinking about Blake and Weiss, and how the Fall of Beacon tore their team apart so viciously.

“Your teammates? Are they still alive?” Vincent asks her, which is the question that has been bouncing around her head for a long time.

“I hope so...we all survived Beacon...but...a couple of our friends didn’t make it out.” Yang sighs, closing her eyes when she thinks about their faces. Penny Polendina and Pyrrha Nikos, two very dear friends to them that were both taken from them so cruelly. Penny ripped apart to make a message and Pyrrha callously murdered by Cinder Fall for power. Despite it all happening six months ago now...it feels so fresh to this day.

“Were you close with them?” Vincent asks her.

Yang nods her head. “You saw what I did to Mercury...did you see what happened to Penny Polendina?” She inquires, and he sits there, remembering the day very well. The Fall of Beacon affected the other Kingdoms as well, brought Grimm to their walls too and killed many good people along the way. Haven suffered the worst of them all, since it has the widest reaching control of land, meaning it is infinitely harder to protect.

“The whole Kingdom saw what she did...our pride and glory committed such an atrocity...” He sighs with disappointment and Yang stares at him with disgust at how he could say such horrible things about Pyrrha. But she is not seeing it from his perspective – she knows she was tricked by Emerald, she could see it in her eyes. But they don’t, all they saw was their prized warrior rip another student apart without any mercy in her actions. So Yang withdraws the urge to yell at the Merchant she has befriended and she sighs, laying on her back again, staring up at the starts to calm down. “The world’s never been the same since...” He says.

Yang sighs, closing her eyes to go to sleep.

“No...It hasn’t.”

 

Hours after Yang decided to go to sleep...

The sun has risen back into the sky and the moon has sunk behind the horizon. The black sky has turned blue, gentle white fluffy clouds float overhead. Yang lies in her sleeping bag with her blonde hair acting as a cushion on her pillow, sleeping relatively well. Until she begins to twitch and writhe slightly in her sleep, muttering. “No...No...” Yang stammers fearfully, and then she gasps and opens her eyes. Her eyes were red, teeth gritted but her rage fades away fast.

She still suffers with nightmares even after leaving home...seeing Adam walking towards her with that merciless smirk on his face all the time. She sits upright slowly; the campfire has burned itself out, white smoke trails from the charcoal that remains from the wood that has crumbled away into grey ashes in the pit of stones. She looks around, but Vincent is gone, he must have left when she went to sleep.

She stands up and begins to roll her sleeping bag back up and stuffing it into the bag that it came in, attaching it to the side of her bike where she has some clips to connect them. She rubs her closed eye, and approaches the burned out fire, and she stares at it.

Yang stamps down on the charred logs to kill the remaining flames once and for all, turning to her Motorcycle to continue on her journey.

To the Gas Station...

**Blake**

 

She has the new symbol of the white fang stretched out before her amber feline eyes, sat in her father’s chair in his study. Multiple scrolls and books laid out on the table in front of him for his work projects. The symbol is on a blue backdrop and has a clean white Wolf that growls on it, without the bloodied slashes through the Wolf Head. She exhales, slowly lowering it down to the table.

Her black feline ears flex with relief, of finally starting to get somewhere with their plan. It has been a few weeks since she and Sun decided to try and take the White Fang back from Adam Taurus and the Albain Brothers. They have amassed quite a following, thanks to the following that they formed, along with the help they got from Ghira and Kali Belladonna, since they are powerful members in the Menagerie Society.

She closes her eyes, remembering the plan that they have made to attack a White Fang Fortress in Menagerie with her parents and Sun.

Blake returns back to the present, and with a slight shock in her body.

Blake’s enhanced Faunus senses detect the presence of somebody at the door and she gasps, springing to her feet when she hears the door creak open.

But she sighs with relief again when she sees him stood there with his never-ceasing smirk on his face. Sun stands there, slowly opening the door to see the beautiful Young Belladonna standing there at Ghira’s desk.

 “Still jumpy all the time, huh?” Sun chuckles, hand rested against the wall as he swings round to look at the attractive young Feline Faunus woman. She walks away from the table and approaches him, still much smaller than him even with her heels on that she wears – even during combat.

“Can’t help it.” Blake admits, and Sun leans against one of the pillars, crossing his muscular arms. Sun turns and looks at the documents she has been reading over for a while, creating some conversation between the two of them.

“You still reading all that stuff? On Adam’s movements in Mistral?” Sun asks her curiously, she follows his eyes but then looks at him in a way he never knew she looked at him as. A longing...which is even more surprising to him when he notices in his peripheral vision and she pulls the look away when he turns back. She has never been a great liar, but he does not press her on it.

“Y-Yeah...” She stammers.

“We’ll find him. I promise.” He assures, holding her by her shoulders with a kind smile. She buries her head into his shoulder, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him tight. Sun is slightly shocked by her immediate empathy towards him, but he does share the embrace eventually. Then the question enters her mind, Sun was helping Kali and Ghira plan the attack on the White Fang stronghold here in Menagerie. It is lead by the White Fang Lieutenant that they fought on the train during Roman’s plan seven months ago.

“Why are you here, Sun?” Blake inquires.

“Huh?” Sun asks her.

“You were planning with my parents, right? Are the plans ready?” She asks him, and then he looks away from her almost awkwardly. He scratches the back of his head.

“I – uh – well...he showed me the size of that fortress they have...” Sun explains, sounding more serious than he normally does. “It’s big, Blake, lots of defences and a large area for them to secure. It won’t be easy.”

“Will it affect the plan?” Blake asks him.

“Not sure...I mean...I made it up on the spot.” Sun shrugs shyly, not showing this side to her father.

Blake smiles sweetly, she reaches up and caresses his cheek affectionately. The two of them both have been getting closer the more time that they spend together. And she is also complimenting him more often now and not pushing him away every chance she can get. She has improved immensely and that is all thanks to Sun. “It was a good plan.” Blake compliments kindly, smiling.

Sun chuckles extremely nervously from feeling the warmth and soft touch of her palm to his cheek.

“Well, you did give me some incentive.” Sun says, patting her arm as he smiles. She looks at him and beams towards him, but the smile fades away when they return to the subject at hand. The concern about the plan and everything that could happen.

“Do you really think we can get enough people?” Blake asks him.

“I dunno...” Sun sighs. “But we have to try, the Mercs won't be hard to convince, it's more the warriors. And hoping that they join. But, you go to war with the army you have.” Sun explains.

She looks at him, noticing the intensity in his words.

“You alright, Sun?” Blake asks him.

Sun looks at her quickly.

“Hmm? Oh yeah, just some things on my mind is all.” Sun says, walking away from the table.

Blake gets up, walking over to Sun carefully.

She grabs his arm to stop him.

“Sun...” She quietly says, looking up at him. Sun looks at her and he sighs, looking away for a second.

“It's just...in Vacuo my dad was a warrior. And he fought the New White Fang a while ago because he didn’t agree with their ideas.” He explains.

“What?” She questions. “They never attack the Faunus.” Blake presumes.

“Yeah...that's what we thought.” Sun states, remembering something very vivid to him. “I went back when it all went wrong...” He begins.

**Sun**

 

Years prior...

Sun walks across the desert of Vacuo, a year or two before he ever met Blake, before he moved to Vale. He holds Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang, connected together, in one hand in its staff form. He enters a village, passing by both humans and Faunus. “I was visiting them after I moved to Mistral.” Sun narrates, remembering these moments ever so clearly in his mind.

The deserts of Vacuo look treacherous, cactus trees everywhere with prickling spikes protruding from their green exteriors, filled with fruits, like yucca fruit. Reptiles come in all shapes and sizes, dancing on the hot stand to prevent overheating. Sun walks past a lizard on a baking rock and it darts away from him. He approaches a smaller house, seeing a woman stood there, watering plants beneath her.

She has long blonde hair and silver eyes – just like Ruby’s. She looks like she is in her mid-forties at least. She is quite short, but is beautiful none the less. She turns, and a gasp leaves her lips when she sees Sun stood there. Sun smirks, dropping his weapon and walking up to her. She wraps her arms around him.

He holds her close. “Hey, mom.” Sun happily says to her. His mother has no Faunus features, meaning that Sun is part Faunus, part human.

“Sun! How was Mistral?” She asks him.

“Eh, colder than it is here.” He says, looking at the scorching sun. The mirages in the distance ripple, creating the illusion of a lake being nearby, but there is truly no such thing. Just a trick on the eyes. They end their hug, looking at each other. “Met some awesome people there, though. Neptune, Scarlet David and Sage!” Sun lists with excitement in his voice. “Together we make Team SSSN, or team Sun.” Sun explains to her.

His mother looks so proud of him, caressing his cheek.

“My hero...” She says gently.

He turns when he hears a man behind him. “Sun?” He asks, making sure if his eyes are not playing tricks on him. Sun turns around, seeing the man. He is tall, muscular and has blonde hair. Blue eyes and has a long monkey tail. He literally looks like an older version of Sun. Sun walks over to his father.

“Hey dad.” He says to him, accepting his father's hug. The two monkey-men look at each other.

“My, my...how you have grown, Sun.” His father says to him.

“I've missed you, Mistral is great and all, but nowhere is quite so great as home.” Sun says to them both.

Sun looks around. “I should have savoured the moment whilst I still could...” Sun narrates with regret forming in his voice. “Because it wasn't long until they showed up.” Sun says to Blake in the present day. Sun turns when he hears screaming in his village, bone chilling screams. An explosion goes off and Sun's eyes widen when he sees the White Fang soldiers sprinting into the town, swinging swords at people. Sun stands to the ready, spinning Ruyi Jingu Bang through his fingers, ready to take them on.

“Sun!” His father yells.

Sun turns to him.

“What?” Sun yells.

“Get the children to safety!” He orders with a bellowing roaring voice.

His father walks forward, taking out two razor sharp blades that are sheathed across his back. He spins them through his fingers. “They are our priority.” His father orders. Sun watches as his father charges right at them. His father ducks down, avoiding the attack of one of the White Fang militants. He drives his sword up the stomach of a soldier and throws the bleeding body across the sandy ground.

 He spins round and kicks one in the Grimm designed mask so hard that it shatters. The fragments fly across the sky and they bounce on the floor. Sun sprints to the playground where the children are. He would have once played here as a child, he hurries them along.

“Follow me, into the barn!” Sun calls. The kids follow him, terrified and keeping their heads down. Sun backs up when a soldier thrusts his blade at him. Sun spins Ruyi Jingu through his fingers and he smashes it across the face of the soldier, completely annihilating the mask and breaking his nose. More soldiers show up and Sun detaches Ruyi and Jingu Bang and he fires the shotgun shells at them.

The rounds cut straight through the armoured chest plates of the White Fang terrorists and they fall to the floor. He jumps over a soldier and wraps the chains round his neck, tightening his grip on them. He swings the soldier round and launches him into a couple more, like throwing a bowling ball into a bunch of bowling pins. He checks his surroundings, finding no one nearby.

He helps the kids further, opening the barn and getting them inside. “Stay inside, I have to help them!” Sun tells them all before he closes the door. “Block it up, don't let anyone inside!”

He sprints across the village to get back to his parents. But then he turns the corner, his eyes widen in disbelief. A massive man stands there, holding his father by the throat. He chokes in pain. He has short brown hair and a beard across his chin that does not meet the rest of his cheeks or mouth like a full beard would. He stands out amongst the White Fang militants, because he does not wear a mask, and has no Faunus features. He chokes his father, staring at him with Hazel Coloured Eyes. “Where is she?” He snarls, a brutish and strong voice, yet clearly tired at the same time...not from exhaustion...just mentally tired from something.

“Never...” His father chokes.

The man snarls and with one sudden tense, there is a loud crunching sound. Sun's eyes widen and his arms fall, as he watches the body of his father become lifeless. He throws his father across the sandy ground, and Sun watches in anguish, seeing his father's body laying there. Dead. Sun then glares at the murderer.

Suddenly, Sun's mother comes running from the barn with a knife, tears running from her eyes and she stabs the behemoth of the man in the back. He yells in agony, blood squirting out as the blade managed to cut through his Aura somehow. His mother staggers back when he glares at her. He grabs the hilt of the blade in his back and he rips it out, his Aura recovering over the wound, healing it back to normal.

Somehow the blade managed to cut through his Aura. The man turns to Sun's mother and he drives the knife straight through her stomach, lifting her off the ground, blood erupting from her back. She gasps in pain, her eyes wide. Sun screams in anguish.

“No!” He bellows, sprinting at the man. The man turns and punches him aside. Sun crashes into the sand, kicking it up around him. Hazel pushes her off the blade and walks away from her. He looks down at Sun and he pushes his boot down on Sun's chest.

He leans down.

“Don't be a fool...” The man simply says, his terrifyingly deep voice growls.

“I'm gonna...kill you!” Sun yells in rage. The man looks forward and pushes Sun aside, walking past him.

“Target's dead, time to go.” The man orders to the White Fang.

They all look at him and they oblige immediately – most likely from fear of getting their faces crushed by his hands alone, following his commands from fear alone. Sun crawls to his mother's side, blood pooling out across the floor and he holds her stomach where she was stabbed.

“Hold on, mom!” Sun begs.

Her silver eyes look at him. She caresses his cheek.

“Be...someone else's...hero...” She utters weakly. Sun never forgot the words that she said to him before she died. “You...can be so much...a hero...don’t let this break you.” She weakly whispered, holding his hand with her other hand. “You...are so handsome...please...find somebody...who can love you...who deserves you...promise me...”

Sun stared at her with glassy eyes.

“I promise...”

Her eyes rolls back into the back of her head and her eyes close up. Her body falls lifeless like a rag-doll in Sun's arms, her blood on his face where she held him. He looks at her body, shuddering in grief. His head falls to her chest and he falls into tears, sobbing heavily. His tears land next to her and he carefully sets her down.

Time passes, as he digs their graves and everyone else that died there that day due to the White Fang. “Ever since then...I have vowed to find the man that killed them, and kill him. And the White Fang must pay for the lives that they took from my home.” Sun narrates as time passes, burying them.

He kneels before them, he places his hands together, creating his Via Sun forms from his semblance. They both honourably copy him, grieving over the loss of his parents. He looks up, rage in his eyes, he stands up and picks up Ruyi Jingu Bang in his hand and then he walks away from their graves.

 

**Blake**

 

Sun looks at Blake. “That's why I was so quick to help you fight the White Fang.” Sun says. “And that was the other reason why I followed you. I couldn’t let you go alone...I couldn’t risk losing you too.” Sun explains to her.

Blake's eyes bulge from their sockets and she caresses his cheek, the same way his mother did.

“Sun...” She tenderly whispers. He holds her hand and takes it from his face.

“Everyone wondered...why I was always so chipper and crazy...the fact is...it's the only way I can live without seeing them everywhere I go.” Sun says, walking past her.

“You're my hero...Sun...and you always will be." Blake says to him.

Sun stops when she says that, a tear leaking from his eyelid. He looks down, shutting his eyes and then he keeps on walking. Blake watches him leave and even she feels similar emotions that he did. She shunned him constantly, especially around her own parents, despite that his parents are both gone, murdered by a man with Hazel Eyes.


	4. Kassius Locke

**Yang**

The lioness-like growl of Bumblebee approaches the gas station that the Merchant mentioned to her, Yang sat atop it with her body laid on the leather coated seats. She decelerates at the gas pump, and the place also appears to be a diner. Yang slowly takes her yellow framed sunglasses from her eyes, looking at the place and she can feel her stomach rumbling. She has some lien cards on her, should be enough to buy a burger or something before she continues on her journey. She hops off and she approaches one of the people who is responsible for filling up motors around here.

She gives him one of her lien cards and he nods, approaching her bike first to start cleaning and filling it up. There are multiple bikes parked here, which are also getting filled up at well. She passes by them; a few of them appear to belong to some sort of gang of bikers that reside out here in Anima. They have a skull engraved on their bikes, but one of the bikes is different. Unlike Yang’s, this one is more like a Harley Davidson with some weathering damage scraped against the metal skin that surrounds it. Yang walks right past it, and then she opens the glass coated doors, the bell rings as she opens it.

She walks inside slowly, and some of the people eating in there look up at her. Some with awe at her beauty, others with suspicion. And others do not even lift their heads, she walks towards the bar where they serve their customers, and she sets her hands on the wooden surface of it. She flicks her long blonde hair back over her shoulder as she looks at the owner of the Diner.

She looks at him, he has parted hair around the centre of his head, and he must be in his early fifties at this point. “Hey there, my dear. What can I get you?” He asks her.

She looks at the menu, and swiftly makes her choice. “Just a burger, and a glass of water please.” She requests, offering him the lien cards that are for her choices.

“Of course, please take a seat. It will be with you shortly.” The man tells her with a smile, turning and walking towards the kitchen where his chefs are. Yang turns and she walks over to where her chosen seat is, a large leather chair were the marble table is. She sits down, sighing with relief as she feels the comfy chair squish beneath her. She feels so comfortable there, waiting for the food to fill her belly and satiate her hunger. Yang taps her hands on the table as she sits there, waiting for her food to be ready so then she can head and continue on her way.

But it looks like she has company.

There is one of those Bikers in there; it appears that there are around ten of them inside of this diner right now. One of them, must be around thirty two years old, stares directly at Yang with a smirk. He has a long dark black mullet and a tattoo of a scorpion on his neck as he stares at her creepily. A scrawny guy with a gun holstered on his hip and a machete sheathed on his other leg. Yang looks around, and she sees two of the Bikers are abusing a woman and her boyfriend. They are only a few years older than she is, and the girl is pregnant as well.

She can’t hear what they are saying; only the whimpers of the girl and the cruel laughter of the men that abuse them. One of them grabs her by her long blonde hair, staring at her features and even grabbing her. “Leave her alone!” The Boyfriend yells with rage, swinging his fist towards the one that abuses his girlfriend. But one of the scumbags catches his wrist with his hand, and then he shakes his head.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Bad move, buddy.” He sighs, and then he strikes him square in the face, breaking his nose and knocking him on the ground. Blood oozes from his nose and the split skin on the bridge of his nose where the skin has swollen up from the attack.

“Chad!” The girl screams with terror.

“I’m gonna enjoy this.” The bandit says as he cracks his knuckles with a smirk on his face, thrusting his boot into the stomach of the man named Chad. He screams with pain as he beats him bloody, and Yang turns to look at the owner of the place with confusion.

“Why aren’t you stopping this?” She mouths as she gestures towards the grunts, but he sighs and points to his neck. He has a brand there, perhaps that is punishment for the last time that he tried to stop them. Yang sits there and she sighs, closing her eyes with annoyance. _Just...don’t get involved...it’s not your business._

“Maybe we’ll take her back to the camp for some fun!” One of the bandits laughs, which makes Yang clench her fist underneath the table with disgust of these people.

But then that Mullet Bandit sits down parallel to her at the table, staring at her smell. She can smell his stench from there, reeking of alcohol and excrement, and gods knows how many drugs are in his systems. “Hey there, sweet-cheeks. What’s your name?” He asks her with a chuckle, Yang rolls her eyes, not looking at him as she tries to wait for her food to get to her.

“Yang.” She answers, hoping to not provoke him. But of course, he just continues to dig himself a deeper grave by taking more and more.

“Yang? As in that Xiao Long gal who broke that kid’s leg?” He questions with a chuckle. Yang exhales through her closed mouth and her open nostrils, staring off at the window as she hopes for the scumbag to leave her alone. She does not want a fight; she just wants to have some lunch before she goes on the search for her baby sister again. The bandit chuckles, admiring the beauty in her face. She can tell though that now his eyes are moving down her neck and towards her breasts since he is clearly one of those guys. “Damn...you’ve got one hell of a bod, ain’t ya?”

Yang scoffs and she rolls her eyes. “Thanks.” She sighs, just trying to get the guy away from her, but he is still not appearing to get the hint.

“I bet the guys were clambering over each other to get into you.” He chuckles disgustingly as he checks out her curves, but Yang does not even answer.

Yang continues to tap her fingers against the table as she sits there, but then the guy says something that gets her attention. “You know – there is a hell of a bounty on your head for what you did. And that Schnee girl for some reason...” He explains, and Yang stops tapping her fingers against the table, slowly turning to stare him in his green eyes. She scowls at him, of course that is the other thing that he has on his mind. But then Yang catches on, her eyes slightly widen when she realises.

_Weiss?_

_Weiss is here too?_

_What about...Blake?_

Before she can even think on that any further, she feels disgusted from the proposition he gives her. He leans forward with a creepy smirk on his face, showing the metal tooth he has in his mouth as he looks at her. “But...I might be able to let it go...if you and I go outside, and you let me in on what you have hiding under those clothes.” He whispers and Yang narrows her eyes, but before she can speak.

Somebody else does.

The man sat behind her.

She cannot see much of him, only that his skin is quite tanned opposed to her fairly light skin she has, and he has a few scars on the back of his neck. He wears a dark brown leather stetson on his head, and appears to wear a dusty trench coat as well. He has his head lowered down, the crown of his hat shades out his eyes. “Leave. Her. Alone.” The man slowly warns, he has an American Accent like Yang which has quite a gruff and scratchy exterior to it. But not that of a foe, but more of a man to be reckoned with.

The Biker scoffs, looking over his shoulder at the man sat behind him at the other table, who clearly has noticed the girl and boyfriend being tormented across the Diner from them. “Oh yeah? Stick around, and after I’m done you can have a crack at the pretty blonde. That is if I don’t take her myself.” He chuckles.

“I’m giving you one last warning, and that is more than I give most Human Traffickers.” The man warns, and the guy rolls his eyes, suddenly grabbing Yang’s wrist.

“Come on, Blondie. Let’s go have some fun.” He says, and before Yang can even retort, some chilling words come from the man’s mouth.

“You’ve just made three dire mistakes.” He says, and the Biker stops in his tracks, his eyes swivel round and he leans against the chair. His hand gets closer and closer to his revolver on his hip, the bartender slowly begins to take cover, because he knows that it is about to become a skirmish.

“Really?” He asks him, and Yang is waiting for her opportune moment. She could take them on no problem, but she does not want to get innocent people hurt.

And she really wants to see what this guy can do.

The guy finished off his beverage, a glass which was filled with Whiskey, he slams it down with his hand and he exhales. “Yeah...” The man answers, cracking his neck as he twists it slightly. “The first one – you shouldn’t have hurt that pregnant girl and her boyfriend. The second – you shouldn’t have threatened Yang.” He lists with that gruff voice, which makes Yang’s eyes widen when she realises that he knows who she is.

In a weird way...

She recognises his voice a little bit.

The Biker scoffs again with that smirk. “Uh-Huh? What’s the third?” He asks.

“You sat behind me.”

The mysterious man suddenly reaches back with both hands and grabs him by his mullet, his eyes widen with shock as the man slams the back of his neck down against the spine of the chair so hard he snaps his neck instantly. There is a bone crunching bang that erupts from him, killing him instantly and Yang’s eyes widen even more, and she springs up from her chair as he does that.

A glass falls from the table of one of the Bikers, and it smashes on the ground, and one of them rushes towards the man who just took out one of his friends. “You son of a bitch!” The man yells, swinging a baseball bat towards the back of his head. The man does not even turn, he just raises his hand, and the baseball bat explodes against his arm, shards of wood are thrown across the tiled floor from the sudden impact. He does not even flinch from it, and only then does Yang see his hand.

His arm appears to be cybernetic just like hers, except his is not as smooth and gentle looking as hers; his is sharper with thicker plates unlike hers. He instantly spins round and roundhouse kicks the Biker in the head, throwing him off his feet and crashing through a table. All the Bikers spring into action, and they sprint towards the mysterious man, and he just walks towards them, he then grabs his coat and he pulls it from his body, revealing a suit of armour underneath. It is not a huge set of armour like the Atlesians have, more like a bunch of metal plates around his chest rig that he wears, with magazines for his weapons as well.

The Trench Coat falls on the ground and he swipes his leg across three of the Biker’s legs, knocking them all over. One of them fires his pistol at him, and that is when he draws his weapon, flicking it upward with his wrist. He holds the hilt which surrounds his hand, until the plates all shift and fold upwards into the steel silver blade that glistens. He slices the bullet clean in two, immediately drawing the second copy of that sword as he throws it directly into the sternum of the Biker, pinning him against the wall. The man gurgles on his blood as it leaks from his injury, keeping him hanging there.

The other Bikers back up, and the man turns to her, looking right at her Lilac eyes. “You gonna make me do all the work?” He questions, looking at her with sapphire blue eyes. Yang’s eyes meet his, with what appears to be a slight recognition, but she has no time to check. She pumps her arms downwards and the plates of metal that are Ember Celica on her one arm she still carries it extends, each plate at a time shifting downwards. The barrel emerges from the yellow and black plates, loading fresh dust shells into the changer; she raises her fists and charges towards the soldier.

Yang yells with anger, swinging her fist straight at one of their faces, knocking him down to the ground. She instantly turns to the two that were being picked on, and she pulls them to safety, hiding them both under a table. She raises her cybernetic arm just in time to catch the machete that was being swung towards her, not like it would have done anything to her thanks to her aura. She looks right at the Bandit who now realises that he made a grave mistake, just as Yang slams her other fist into his chest, knocking him back. Yang delivers a deadly kick into the side of his leg to bring him down to his knee. But she instantly twirls round and uppercuts him, launching him through the double doors.

The bandit slides across the floor, groaning in pain, and the others look at her and the mysterious man, and they follow him, getting outside as they leave their two dead comrades that he took down. The man walks past the man that he pinned to the wall with his sword, ripping the blade from his chest, flicking the blood off it in one motion. The two of them walk outside, one glimmering with blonde hair, and the other like a shadow of her mercifulness in combat. That is clearly the difference between them at the moment; he just appears to be a Huntsman that does not care about the idea of keeping your enemies alive to think about their actions.

He just kills them and moves on apparently.

The Bandits all turn, helping their friend up and they do look terrified as they both walk towards them. “All you had to do – was leave them alone.” The man states with a sigh, as a pair of mechanical weapons extend down from his forearms. Each one has three barrels, and they look a little bit similar to Ember Celica, except these are not black and yellow, they are just black with red and amber lighting. They also have magazines attached to them, which can be ejected when they are out of Dust Rounds in their clips.

One of the Bandits snarls with frustration, drawing his pistol and firing it at Yang, but she raises her cybernetic arm and the bullet just bounces off the tough metal. “You’re gonna take your lumps!” He yells, and he rushes towards Yang first, and the other man just goes for the others, since he knows that she can handle them.

Yang remains with a neutral – somewhat annoyed – expression on her face...all she wanted was to eat her burger and have her glass of water. And now she is engaged in a battle against some idiot thugs who did not know any better. The thug that charges her goes to kick her with a knife sticking out from his boot, but Yang slams her own boot into his knee, which sends him twirling round. Yang slams her fist across his face and then in the chest. She then spins round and throws one powerful punch into his ribs, smashing him down into the ground. Just as she does that, another Bandit rushes her with a machete, but she rolls backwards, hooking her leg around his forearm and twisting it round to force him into releasing the weapon.

She pulls her bodyweight downwards which pulls him towards the ground, and as she rolls back onto her feet, she swings round and kicks him right in the teeth, knocking them out in the process. Beside her, the new friend she has met battles against three of them at once with his two swords in hand, he spins them through his fingers as the Bikers lunge at him, and another draws his Submachine Gun, trying to shoot him with him. The Huntsman slashes one of the Bikers across the chest with it and he then stabs that blade down into the foot of the other. He sheathes his other sword and starts to use his hand-to-hand techniques he has learned.

He punches the one he pinned into the floor by the foot, who is still screaming with pain, right in the gut and he jumps over him, slamming his cybernetic fist down the back of his head. The punch is so hard that his head crashes into the dirt so hard that the dust is blown away from his face. He immediately swipes one over with his leg to send him into the air, then grabs the sword that he stabbed into that Biker’s foot, plunging it down into his chest so hard it pins him down into the soil. The Bandit screamed for a second before dying from the severity of his injuries, blood leaking out from his back and into the dirt and from his mouth.

He turns and knees the third one in the chest, making him jolt back from the impact, he then grasps the Biker by his collar, and he lifts him off the ground, roaring as he swings him round and crashes his body into the ground. Winded, the Biker attempts to get back up, until the Huntsman starts slamming his fists into his head over and over again until he stops struggling, blood splattering against his knuckles as he does it. His body is actually slammed _into_ the soil from how hard he punched him over and over again like that.

The Huntsman closes one eye as he rises up and aims down the iron sights he created for his weapon on his wrist. He squeezes the trigger in his hand and the barrel erupts an explosive flame, launching a bullet towards a soldier that leaps at Yang from behind with a hammer to knock her down, the bullet punctures through his shoulder and he screams in agony, as the crimson blood bursts out from there. Yang punches one of them three times in the chest swiftly, winding him with shock and awe from her attacks, and then she fires Ember Celica into the ground as she jumps, spinning round and kicking him in the chest. Yang then turns her attention to the bleeding man on the ground who still tries to challenge her with his gun.

Yang kicks the gun from his hands and then punches him right in the head. The attack knocks him out, and she turns to her friend who takes on the last two bandits, and she spots one of them going for him with a sword. She blasts both Ember Celica Gauntlets behind her, using the recoil as a catapult that throws her towards the Biker. The Biker turns, wide eyed when he sees her flying towards him like that. He swings the sword at her, but she fires them into the ground again, gracefully flying over him, pirouetting through the air as she glides. The Huntsman also watches as he lifts one of the Bandits off the floor with his metal hand, in similar awe at her grace.

Yang lands behind him, and then punches him right in the chest, and the Huntsman slams the last one into the ground with all his might.

Finally...

Silence...

Yang exhales, flicking her hand through the hair that droops over her eyes for a second, and then she turns to the Huntsman that helped her in that fight. He walks over to the one that she took out and he kicks him in the head, knocking him out as well. Perhaps he is not that cold hearted, maybe when it comes to combat it is all or nothing for him. “Thanks for the help.” Yang softly says with a smile as she wipes the dust from her shoulder, then she swivels her arms around to pop them back into position after that bout.

“Anytime, Yang.” He assures with a smile, he picks up his sword from the stomach of the Biker he killed, scraping the blood off on his coat. Then he flicks his wrists downwards and the blades fold away into his hilt. He attaches them to a pair of magnetic pieces of metal, one on each thigh, and the weapons that look quite similar to Ember Celica disengage as he approaches her, the plates of metal retract back.

Yang has been bouncing around the question...

She needs to know.

“Who are you?” She asks him, and he chuckles. “Can I help you?”

“It has been a while – so I won’t get _too_ offended.” He says as he takes his hat off, brushing some of the dirt from it that accumulated from that battle they endured. He brushes it off the hawk’s feather that is pinned to it. He looks her in the eyes as he speaks. “But to answer your question – I’m looking for a friend of mine. About your height, pretty blonde hair, lilac eyes...not to be messed with? Heard of anyone like that, Firecracker?” He asks her, as he describes her perfectly.

Yang’s eyes widen when she sees his face...

Because she knows that face, and has not seen it in a very long time.

Her partner is slightly taller than Yang is, as he stands at six feet in height and is built up with toned muscle across his entire body. Just like her. He has a waxed windswept hairstyle of the dark brown variety and a shadowy set of brown facial hair around his face. He has faint aged scars from previous events of his life, two long ones that stretch down from his chin to down his neck and to his left peck.

He also has a scar through one of his brows above his heavy lidded sapphire blue eyes. His eyebrows are thick, despite one of them cut off through the middle due to a scar from his past. His skin is rather tanned, most likely from the sun or just from his life; he has always had slightly darker skin than Yang ever has, but not by much.

His skin though, like Yang’s, despite having many scars on them, is relatively smooth like hers. His face is rather wolfish in shape with an aquiline nose. He has full lips unlike Yang’s Cupid’s Bow ones. He also has a few days growth of beard, forming just a shadowy effect around his face.

He wears a tan coloured trench coat that shields his legs as well with deep pockets and he also wears a weathered leather stetson with a Hawk’s father attached to it. Underneath the coat, we wears a chest rig that carries plates of armour around his torso, and underneath that is a brown vest.

As she looks into his eyes...she gasps as she says his name.

“Kassius?” She whispers softly with awe, after not seeing him in many years. The last time they saw each other...well he did not look anything as good as he does now. She has always known him with those scars...but not with that robotic arm. He smiles as he bows to her, holding his hat in his hand.

“In the flesh.” He adds with a smile on his face, and Yang laughs nervously when she sees him.

“Oh my god, Kas!” She squeaks with happiness, wrapping her arms around him and he laughs.

“Whoa! Take it easy.” He chuckles as he holds her close, arms wrapped around her and in her soft blonde hair. They must really have a good friendship if _Yang Xiao Long_ lets him touch her hair like that. She would rarely even let Ruby touch her hair, so they must have a good bond.

“Wow...you look good. I haven’t seen you in so long...” She stammers as she looks at him, then she starts to go into her _ramble mode_. “How have you been? What has Haven been like?” She begins, but Kassius stops her as he gently places his finger on her lips.

“Okay, hold on...let’s check up on the folks in there first, then we can catch up. Deal?” He asks her and she laughs, nodding her head as they leave the bodies where they were. They both open the doors together, walking inside as they look around. “Okay everyone, it’s safe now.” Kassius promises, holding his hands in the air as he stands there.

The couple cautiously stand back up, the boyfriend limping and still in pain from the beating he took. “Thank you.” The girlfriend pleads with happiness, and the bartender looks at them.

“I owe you two a debt.” He chuckles.

“Don’t mention it.” Kassius assures, and they both walk over to the table that Kassius was sitting at, due to the dead Bandit still slumped in that seat at the moment, blood leaking from his ears and nose from how viscous Kassius’ attack really was. Ripped some of his hair from his scalp in the process.

They both sit down in the seats, and Kassius sighs. “Be it ever so humble.” He chuckles, looking at Yang, and she looks at him.

“It’s been a long time, Kas.” Yang says to him with a smile, her arm stretched across the seat, her cybernetic one at her side. Kassius has not noticed her arm yet, and it is very possible he might worry when he does notice she lost her arm.

“Indeed it has...three years since I was shipped off here.” Kassius sighs, remembering it all very well.

Kassius and Yang have known each other for quite a while, he was taken in by Taiyang after an accident happened and he befriended his daughters, especially Yang. He was a best friend to them both...and for a short time he and Yang did become something a little more. Only when she was older though, and Kassius was shipped off to Haven Academy since he did not get the aptitude scores to get into Beacon Academy with her. They tried to stay in contact, but they have both had their share of adventures and their teams. “Is it nice here?” Yang asks him, and he looks at her and chuckles.

“Nice enough in certain places...beautiful views...issue is Bandits are everywhere and the region is so much bigger than Vale...it’s hard to control. Lionheart sure does know how to keep us Hunters busy.” He chuckles.

Yang can’t hold it back any longer.

The bursting questions.

She’s gonna explode!

“How have you been? What’s Haven like? Is it better than Beacon?” She rambles on again, and Kassius chuckles at her enthusiasm, but he still appears to not talk about how he has been, but then again, he seems to be more interested in how _she_ has been over the past few years they have been split apart.

“Alright, alright – hold up.” He turns as the Bartender brings them their drinks, he has an orange juice and she has a glass of water. He picks his glass up and he crosses one leg over the other. “I wanna hear about you.” He says with a smile on his face.

“Me?” Yang questions. “What’s to tell?”

“Well...I read the news every now and then before the C.C.T went down...I heard some pretty crazy-ass stories.” He says with a smile and a chuckle as well, and Yang sighs when she realises.

“Gods, what crazy stories?” She asks, her head sinking down. He takes a sip from his glass and then sets it down on the table.

“Train Crash? Battling a giant Paladin in the middle of a freeway?” He lists a few examples, ones that Yang remembers very well. The battle on the train and against the Paladin, both responsible by Torchwick as well.

How simpler those times really were.

“Yeah...that...that really did happen.” She softly laughs as she looks away from her drink.

“Come on, Yang! What did I miss?” He excitedly asks her, moving forward slightly in his seat, intrigued to hear some of her stories.

“Man, Kas...where do I start?” She asks him.

He smiles supportively to her as he always has done. “Start at the best part.”

There were so many memorable moments from her time at Beacon Academy. The battle in the Emerald Forest when they all formed their teams for the first time, the battle on the highway against Torchwick, the great party that they had, Mountain Glenn...even the Fall of Beacon, but that was not memorable in a good way. She thinks that as her eyes move down to her cybernetic hand on her lap, so she chooses to avoid that story for now.

She chooses the first one.

“Um...Oh yeah, do you remember when you and I wanted to check out Mountain Glenn? Because we had that theory there was a secret there?” Yang asks him.

“Yeah, sure.” Kassius agrees, nodding his head.

“Okay, we were right. We went there to find where Torchwick was hiding.” Yang tells him, and his blue eyes widen with amazement.

“Hiding in the city of Mountain Glenn?” He questions.

“Mhm.” Yang nods.

Kassius chuckles with amazement at this. “Oh it gets better, we investigated the area – and they weren’t there. Until Ruby found a crater into a _Lost Underground City_.” Yang tells him with the same amazement on her face he has.

“Are you kidding me?”

 

 

**Weiss**

“So your dad’s hunting you because you ran from him?” Scarlet asks her, his arms crossed as he stands against one of the pillars in the house that Team S.S.S.N bought as a potential safe-house from the mercenary presence here in Mistral. Clearly they must be hunting her for the bounty on her head, just as Yang is being followed by criminals in need of that cash as well. Sage is stood over by a table with his massive sword rested on his shoulder; the two of them have been filled in on her current situation with her father hunting her down constantly.

“Yeah, he took my heiress rights away from me – gave them to my brother – and tried to keep me locked away in my room. I couldn’t stand a day longer in there because he didn’t get his own way.” Weiss explains, clenching her gentle firm hands into fists, gritting her teeth with anger when she thinks about him and his icy cold face he has. That privileged smirk he always carries with him, despite the only reason he has all this money is that he married his way into the family name and took control over the company. Willow Schnee – Weiss’ mother – is unfit to do anything since she seems to just be drinking her life away in the Schnee Manor Gardens.

“Don’t blame you.” Sage scoffs, scratching the side of his chin as he points that out.

“Pretty risky, though. You know that Atlas shut down its borders, don’t you?” Scarlet asks her, raising one of his red eyebrows.

“I was outside my dad’s office when I heard Ironwood tell him that. I doubt my father is gonna let that slide, it will affect the profits of his business, the only thing he actually cares about.” Weiss explains sternly with a scowl on her face.

“We were chased by Mercenary-Types poking around the markets when she got here, I didn’t recognise their faction.” Neptune explains, he has lived here in Mistral long enough to recognise the Mercenaries and Thugs that reside within the walls of Mistral.

“I do.” Sage reveals, catching their attention.

“Who are they?” Neptune inquires curiously.

“They call themselves the Acolytes of Lien – I don’t know much about them, only that they originated from Vacuo during the Great War. They were a Splinter Group that abandoned the Vacuo Army and became their own order. A military for hire, but I thought they lost all their funding. They seem to have more kit now.” Sage describes correctly, and they have only seen the soldiers that are disguising themselves in the crowd. If they are a military for hire, then that means that these are not your ordinary mercenaries, these ones have funding and lots of equipment that they could use against them.

“That would take a big pile of cash to bring them back like this.” Scarlet David explains, shrugging his shoulders before he draws his pistol and cleans the barrel of the musket.

Weiss thinks on his comment, and she has her suspicions. “My father has many contacts, and he has always made it very clear to me that money is power. He is one of the richest men in all of Remnant thanks to what he gained from my grandfather’s company.” Weiss informs, which now stacks the odds extensively against their favour.

“Meaning they could have more than enough money to spend on military grade tech.” Neptune sighs, pushing his fingers through his blue hair.

“How did they even know you would come here?” Neptune asks Weiss, a factor that she did not even consider at the time. She ponders on the thought.

_That’s a good point..._

_How could they have known that I was coming here today?_

_Unless..._

_I was sold out?_

_Drat! This day is getting worse by the second._

“Someone must have sold me out, could have heard me talking to the pilot or it could have even been him.” Weiss stammers.

“I doubt it was the pilot, Smugglers don’t tend to inform those who would arrest them for smuggling a prime target.” Sage states.

“Then someone back home...” Weiss sighs, thinking through the names. But none come to mind – it would never have been Klein, but it could have been her brother. He has always hated her since they were little, for reasons unknown to her.

“If they’re coming for you, we’re gonna have to make sure you don’t stand out in the crowd. Change your hairstyle; change your name, your clothes.” Scarlet states, looking at Neptune and he smirks. Her eyes dart back and forth between them with increasing nervousness.

“What are you planning?”

 

Moments later...

Neptune opens up his closet which reveals his wide variety of clothes to her so then she can choose what she can wear. Unfortunately there are no women’s clothes, but then again she is actually quite grateful for that since that means he is not keeping any important secrets from her. Like if he is secretly a Transvestite by night and a Flirtatious Dork by day.

“Take your pick.” Neptune says, stepping out of the way for her to approach and choose which of his clothes she would feel comfortable wearing.

Weiss puts on a black and blue hoodie that Neptune has just lent her. Weiss barely fits into it, looking uncomfortable in the warm clothes that hang loosely around her slender curvy frame. The long sleeves devour her little arms and she has let her white hair down, covering it over one of her eyes, taking a page from Cinder's book. In fact, she looks quite pretty with her hair down like that, if she curled it a bit she would look extremely beautiful. At least it makes her harder to recognise that way.

Unless if someone knows her well enough.

She wears some of his trousers as well, some that also are quite baggy compared to what she is used to. Then again, she is more used to wearing a skirt than wearing any form of trousers like others. “Um...Neptune?” Weiss softly says to him, clearly not fitting in those clothes.

This is not exactly perfect form for her.

Neptune turns to her, putting his golden goggles on and sliding them onto his forehead.

“Yeah?” He replies, picking up his Trident. Scarlet and Sage are inside, taking their weapons so then they can help her.

“You don't have anything else?” She asks, looking at herself in the mirror – self conscious of her looks as always.

“Sorry, I left all my dresses in the wash.” Neptune sarcastically retorts, but Weiss looks at him with a puzzled expression. “I'm joking.” Neptune says, holding his hands up in defence at her. Weiss smiles a little at Neptune and she stretches her arm into the sleeve. Her white hair moves over her eye and Weiss groans.

Neptune laughs a little at her discomfort.

“You're enjoying this, aren't you?” Weiss moans in annoyance.

“Oh yeah.” Neptune confirms cheekily, crossing his arms as he admires her in his clothes and her body as well. Weiss sighs, picking up Myrtenaster and she wraps her belt of Dust Crystals around her waist, clipping them onto the belt that Neptune had leant her. She looks over at Neptune, and then Scarlet and Sage walk in.

Scarlet wears his outfit that he wore in the Vytal Festival, same white shirt and red coat on his shoulder. His cutlass is sheathed on his belt and he holsters his Flintlock Pistol on the other side of his belt. His red hair covering his right eye and his red tattoo under his other eye. Then Sage enters, his sword sheathed on his back. He wears his white shirt, showing his tattooed chest.

He scratches his green hair when he looks over at Weiss.

“Hey love-birds.” Sage jokingly and even quite snarkily greets, a strong voice. Neptune sighs; because of that little moment that he and Weiss had that they rudely interrupted earlier.

“You didn't see anything.” Neptune lies.

“I...think we did.” Scarlet says with a cocky voice.

Weiss groans.

“I am gonna smack you into next week if you don't shut up.” Weiss threatens.

“Oh yeah?” Scarlet challenges, holding his hands out. Weiss' eyes narrow and she gets up from her chair and takes a step forward. Just a step, and that is enough for Scarlet to flee like a coward. Scarlet creates a bird-like screech as he flees from her. She barely has to run after him before he retreats and she returns to Neptune.

Weiss looks at Sage.

“You want to try?” She asks him.

“Oh no, I'm not an idiot.” Sage says, smartly as well. Weiss turns when Scarlet comes back in and then she returns to Neptune.

Weiss looks at Neptune.

“So you think that he can help me?” Weiss asks him.

“Yeah, Lionheart knows people who can forge new identities. We get you a new identity and you start changing your fashion style, they might think that you aren't here.” Neptune explains.

Weiss sighs; she used to be happy that she was a Schnee, proud of the name she wore like a badge. Now she is running and hiding from it because if she does not, it could get her or worse her friends all killed.

“What's my name gonna be?” Weiss asks.

“Willow Honeydew.” Neptune answers. Weiss' expression is complete and utter disgust at this name, but she has to do it if she wants to do this. Although it is sweet that she gets to use her mother’s name, she has always liked that name. Very soft and gentle, unlike her father’s. She sighs and nods in agreement. “You ready?” Neptune asks her.

She nods.

“Let's go.” Weiss says to him.

 

**Yang**

About an hour has passed as Yang and Kassius caught up on their lost time together. “So another crime boss defeated, and we made it out alive. Barely.” Yang concludes, and Kassius shakes his head with a chuckling smirk.

“Unbelievable.” He softly says as he sits there.

“Yeah...I wish you could have been there.” Yang says with a gentle smile, piquing his interest when he sees her gleaming bright smile.

“No – it’s _literally_ unbelievable. I mean you tell me all these crazy tales and somehow you managed to walk away with no credit at all?” He asks her and they both laugh at that statement.

“Yeah well, story of my life I guess.” She says, crossing her arms. “So what about you? Any cool stories?”

“Well let’s see...there was one mission we had in the farmlands of Mistral, some farmers asked us to help them solve a _crisis_.” He describes, using his fingers to mark the quotation marks. Yang giggles pre-emptively at the way he says that.

“Oh no, what happened?” She asks him with a curious smile on her face.

“Well, we were informed that there was a Beowulf that snuck in there and smashed up the Chicken Coups in there, killed a bunch of them. So we showed up to help them out.” Kassius continues to explain.

“Did you find the Beowulf?” Yang inquires.

“Nope, because there was no Beowulf at all, turned out the Farmers lied out of embarrassment of what really happened.” Kassius continues, building up the suspense of what happened there.

“Oh dear lord.” She giggles with excitement.

“We get there – three hour drive on our motorcycles – three hours, Yang!”

Her laughter just gets stronger and stronger.

“Wanna know what the deal was?”

“What?”

“A Loose Chicken!”

Yang explodes with laughter, bouncing up and down as she laughs, actually starting to stream with tears from how hard she laughs at how he built all that up for that. It is hard to tell what it is that she found funnier, the way he built it up, the situation, or how angry he sounded at how long it took for them to get there. She covers her mouth and even snorts as she laughs, and it makes Kassius chuckle as well, gazing at her beauty. He has always adored her laugh, and he has always been able to make her cry with laughter with his stories.

Although...despite everything between them...something clearly is holding him back from asking her if she is happy to continue where things left off.

Something big.

Yang wipes a tear from her eye as she calms down a little. “A chick-chicken?” She asks him, still wobbly with laughter. She could burst into laughter again if he adds more.

“Yep, a chicken went completely nuts in the coup and smashed it to pieces! Not a single chicken was hurt; they lied to get us out there.” He sighs.

“Did you catch the chicken?” Yang asks.

“Eventually.”

“Eventually?”

“Of everything I have fought out here in Mistral, from Wyverns to Manticore in the mountains...nothing was more difficult than trying to catch a stupid chicken. I smelled of chicken crap for a month.” Kassius concludes, shaking his head with disgust.

Yang giggles more, sitting there as she twiddles her fingers. Then her eyes gaze to his weapons that he has, the two retractable swords and the Gauntlets that look similar to hers but just lack the colour and are more for any range unlike her shotguns. “Your weapons...I remember Lash Equinox, but not those.” She says, poking his gauntlets.

Lash Equinox are the names of his two swords.

“Oh yeah, I made these when I was with my...my team.” He says, stammering slightly when he mentions his team, but he continues before Yang could actually ask anything about the problem. “I call them Vulcan Nox.”

“Cool name...they look a bit like...” Before Yang can finish her point, he confirms it.

“I based them off Ember Celica...as a reminder of you.” He admits with a smile, and Yang nervously blushes with a smile. She is never like this around anybody else, but she has such a history with him, that she cannot hide them anymore.

If only the laughter could continue...

But it gets serious now.

He looks at her, and then he catches on, his eyes widen with disbelief and concern when he sees the plates of black and yellow metal where her arm should be. She looks worried at first, as if there was something creepy on her, but he leans forward and he touches her arm, almost affectionately running his hand across the arm and into her hand, slowly pulling her arm from the other. He stares at her arm with horror of what happened to her, he has always been extensively protective over her.

The cogs in the metal of her arm slowly but precisely move around inside the plates, and Yang closes her eyes sadly after seeing his reaction, looking down at her lap. “W-What happened?” He desperately asks her with wide eyes.

She looks him in the eyes, and she leans forward, touching his hand with her warm human one. “The Battle of Beacon – I...I heard my partner get hurt. She was being attacked by this guy, I don’t know his name...but I think she talked about him once. I think he is the Leader of the White Fang, and he hurt her. I snapped and I leapt at him to take him out, but he swung his sword...and...” Yang stammers, her hand begins to shake as she remembers the terrible memories of the pain she experienced before passing out. The horrifying smirk on Adam’s face as he sliced her arm clean from her elbow in one swift strike.

She did not even notice her hand wobbled against her glass, and it falls from the table and shatters on the floor. “Ah! Damn it!” She sighs with distress, pressing her wrist against her forehead, closing her eyes. He looks at the shards of glass, and then at her, seeing the pain on her face from her Post Traumatic Stress that she is suffering from. No surprise either...but he knows what she feels. His eyes flit down to his cybernetic arm and he moves the fingers slowly and carefully.

“Hey...” He softly whispers, turning her cheek to face him and he smiles, gently moving some of her blonde hair from her eye. “It’s okay...I know what it feels like...to lose something like that.” Kassius assures, and then she looks at his cybernetic arm.

“How did you lose your arm? I never...I don’t ever remember you having one before.” She points out. Kassius’ breath becomes rather shaky, and he stares at the arm, seeing flashing images of the deaths of people in his eyes. He shuts his eyes tight, clenching that hand into a fist as he fights the bad memories, just as Yang did.

“That’s...a story for another time...it’s still pretty raw.” He tells her, looking back into her eyes kindly. Yang could have demanded him to tell her since she told him about Adam, but she can see the pain in his eyes. And if it is still raw, then she could have lost her arm before he did.

Yang smiles and she looks at him affectionately. “It’s okay...whenever you want to.” She says, then she tells him why she is here. “Because I’m heading to Haven at the moment.” Yang tells him and he raises his eyebrow.

“Why?” He asks her.

“My sister – Ruby – she is headed there, I need to find her. Want to make sure she is safe.” Yang explains to him, and he has always loved how protective she has been of her baby sister, and he has always been a very good friend to Ruby. Always gave her the nickname of – Knucklehead.

“Hang on a second...you mean...this is Ruby?” She asks her, showing her a picture on his scroll as he reveals a photograph of them. Ruby, Jaune, Ren and Nora walking into Haven Academy with a rather compelling title.

_SLAYERS OF THE KUROYURIAN NUCKELAVEE ARRIVE IN MISTRAL_

She politely and gently picks up his scroll and she looks at the picture, staring at Ruby as she walks into the place with Jaune beside her, and someone else. Her eyes widen with disbelief.

It’s Qrow.

“Nuckelavee Slayers?” Yang asks him with confusion, she has never heard of that name before now, unaware of the monstrosity that they faced that day.

“Yeah, for the past decade there has been a Creature of Grimm that lived in the ruins of a town called Kuroyuri. It destroyed it and killed a whole tonne of people there back then, and there has been a bounty on its head ever since. Not Huntsman or Huntress has been able to kill it – till they did.” Kassius explains, and she smiles with pride on her face as she stares at the picture of her little sister.

“That’s my sis alright.” She softly laughs with a smile.

“I thought I recognised her...man she was a lot smaller than when I last saw her.” Kassius points out.

“She’s still the same; put a cookie in front of her and it won’t last long.” Yang points out from experience.

“Still loves puppies?” He asks.

“Oh yeah, she would smother herself with puppies if she could.” Yang states, that is Ruby’s idea of heaven probably as well.

“Well then.” Kassius says, standing up from his table and putting some lien to the bartender.

“Oh, please you don’t owe me anything; you put an end to those scumbags.” He points out.

“I know, but you still do good work.” Kassius says with a smile, walking out with Yang.

“Well, what?” She asks him.

“Let’s go see your little sister.” He says, approaching his Harley Davidson.

“Wait, no, if you were doing something I don’t want to –”

“Yang...please...I would do anything for you. I haven’t got anything else but you.” He says with a smile, so considerate that it melts her heart. She sighs and nods, walking past his impressive motor cycle and onto Bumblebee, twisting the handlebars and putting her sunglasses on as the engine roars to life. Kassius’ engine growls aggressively as he holds the high up handlebars, and he drives with Yang towards the road.

Both headed the same way.

To Mistral.

To find Ruby.


	5. Rebellion

**Ruby**

She walks in the Mistraalian set of clothes, past the people of Mistral, approaching the Academy at the top of the mountains. Every single person that she walks past seems to be looking at her; she can even hear their whispers.

“Aren’t those the kids that killed the Nuckelavee?” One of the civilians ponders with recognition.

Appears news really does travel fast here in Mistral, spies everywhere here, nearly as many as there are in Atlas. “Yeah – I thought that thing was supposed to be un-killable.” Another man states.

“They must be the best of the best.” Another man chuckles.

Ruby cannot help but feel so good on the inside, she has helped countless people from terrible fates, but this one really did feel the best. Not only did Ren and Nora get revenge on the monster that brought them both so much pain all those years ago, but they also avenged every poor soul that met that creature.

But her giggly emotions fade eventually when she hears other voices, and they are not as positive as theirs. “Damn Valerian Freeloaders – we were already dealing with Famine after their little performance six months ago. Now we got even more mouths to feed.” One of the men grumbles with disgust as he stares at them as they passed by.

She does not respond to his cold words, but her large silver eyes slide back and she looks at the man. He is a fat Merchant who watches their every move with his arms crossed, chewing tobacco in his salivating mouth.

He is not the only one to judge them. “That’s what happens when you let pride protect you – luck runs out eventually.” He scoffs.

Ruby snarls, gritting her teeth together and clenching her hand into a fist, going to shout at him. Until Qrow’s arm lifts up in front of her and stops her in her tracks, she looks up and him and sees him shake his head. “Mm-Mm.” He grumbles as he shakes his head, and Ruby sighs, turning and following the rest of Team R.N.J.R to where they are headed. At the end of the day, the Valerians were not the most – respected – of the Four Kingdoms.

Ruby’s mind is swiftly yanked away from the harsh words of the scummy merchants that judged them despite their heroic actions, by the audible whining of Nora Valkyrie. “Urgh!” She erupts, slouching forward as she walks, arms hanging down by her sides; eyelids hang low over her pupils. “How much further?” She groans.

“You wanted the scenic route, right?” Qrow asks her with a chuckle.

“What? I never –”

“Yes you did.” Ren immediately interrupts, hands behind his back as he walks beside her, her eyes rise up to his and she smiles and looks ahead.

“Hm, guess I did.” She agrees, never able to argue with Ren.

The five of them walk across the path that moves underneath one of the many huge waterfalls that are around the city of Mistral, built into the Mountain Ranges of Anima. And this is only the Capital of the Kingdom, unlike Vale it is a massive region of land that people live in. The water is bitterly cold from the altitude that they are at above sea level. The wind from the crashing water blows their hair in the wind slightly; Jaune reaches his hand out and brushes some of the water through his gauntleted hand.

But then...

They are all treated to one hell of a view.

The waterfall finally is out of their way, and they all stare out at the incredible City of Mistral. Ruby gasps, mystified by it all, and she jogs forward and presses her hands on the railing. “Wow...” She gasps with stupefaction. Qrow chuckles as he approaches her side with the rest of her team with her, and Jaune stares at it all.

Only three words emerge from Ruby’s lips.

“This.

Is.

Awesome!”

Ruby squeaks with excitement, her voice echoes across the canyon of buildings before them, houses built upon countless mountain summits that they have utilised. Carving paths with railings for people to walk along, and there is a large freeway that moves through the mountains which cars drive through. An interesting sight, considering that most of the Mistraalian Architecture and Culture is rather primitive looking, old buildings and wearing robes most of the time.

And despite Ruby preferring her outfit...

These outfits are quite comfortable and look quite good on her person. The thing that really grinds her gears is that she cannot bring Crescent Rose with her to meet Headmaster Leonardo Lionheart with. They all gaze at the markets beneath the huge roads that are built above them, gigantic bridges essentially held up with thick supports. Cars continue to drive over the roads that have been built there, whereas many others appear to be using the footpaths to get where they need.

The markets beneath them have countless people all shopping for goods and merchants selling their products to them. Despite Ruby’s excitement, the enthusiastic Qrow Branwen does not appear to share that type of enthusiasm. “Yeah...that’s one word for it.” He gruffly shrugs as he stares at the city. It is clear that he sees this place for what it really is, a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Ruby’s eyes seem to almost be attracted like ferrous metal to a magnet towards a vendor who is selling countless types of weapons to his customers. To swords, to axes and even some war hammers. No firearms though, only close-quarters-combat weaponry. She gasps once again when seeing them all. “Oh my gosh! Look at all those weapons!” She gleefully squeaks.

“Yeah, those merchants will probably sell you just about anything. For ridiculous prices as well.” He sighs, staring at his flask which has his alcoholic beverage stored inside. Jaune gazes at the amount of buildings that have been constructed onto the massive walls of the mountains themselves.

“They really used the most of these mountains, didn’t they?” Jaune asks.

“Every inch...and the people have found a way to separate the different class here too.” Qrow states, getting Ren’s attention.

“What do you mean?” He asks.

“The poor and the criminals tend to live in the lower regions, merchants in the middle and the rich and powerful at the top. Best to stay clear from the lower regions, pickpockets galore down there.” Qrow promises.

He steps forward, opening his flask to take a swig. “Besides, we’re headed up there.” He points, and Ruby follows his finger towards the huge structure atop the two mountains.

Haven Academy.

She looks at the majestic waterfall as it plummets down into the caverns below. Awe spreads across her face as she admires the view. A smile curves across her face. “Wow...” Ruby exhales with amazement.

Jaune stands there, looking at the cloud of water vapour that trails away from the waterfall. He looks at the majestic city, and then his eyes move to the floor. Sadness builds in his eyes as he thinks of the girl that he lost, stood on the grass that she came from...and she is not beside him.

“Wish you were here, Pyrrha...” Jaune whispers both softly and sombrely, walking onward, following Qrow.

Qrow stops, turning to Ruby.

“Come on, Kiddo.” Qrow ushers, waving her over.

Ruby snaps out of it, shaking it off and she jogs over to catch up with them. She keeps up with Qrow and they walk up the steps to the large building. She walks beside Ren who is still holding Nora's hand. Ruby notices and she gently smiles at them.

People wander past them, all carrying on with their lives like nothing is even happening. But Ruby knows the truth, they all do. Salem is up to something, something big. And it will take the strength of every Huntsman to stop her.

Before they enter the Academy Doors, a man bumps into Ruby, and she instantly apologises to him. “Oh, sorry!” She apologises politely with a smile.

The man turns, and it is the same Merchant that met Yang not long ago, looking exactly the same. He smirks at her as he waves his hand. “It’s okay.” He assures, smiling at her and walking away. Ruby watches him as he walks off, then hears the sound of a Crow on the gate that they are about to enter.

This Crow...

It is bizarre...

It has glowing red eyes and a crystal beak; it caws and eventually flies off, in the same direction as Vincent Reeve.

Ruby does not look into it too deeply, sighing and following her Uncle.

They all enter the Quad of the Academy, the large courtyard where the main building stands before their very eyes. The quad is a large, spacious area in Haven Academy. It is surrounded by forests and there is a fountain at the centre of it, with some shrubbery, wooden benches and lamp posts lined along the perimeter. Flanking the quad are the kingdom of Mistral's two Cross Continental Transmit towers.

The quad leads up to Haven's Grand Hall.

Qrow approaches the large front doors of the building, pushing them both open to enter.

The Grand hall is a spacious building leading up to the headmaster's office which contains a statue of a woman that conceals the Haven Vault. The interior is coloured with greens and browns. The statue leading to the vault is flanked by two stairways that join together at the top. There is an upper walkway that can be accessed by flanking stairways near the hall's entrance. The walls are decorated with various paintings and blue banners bearing Mistral's symbol.

The lower floor also has some trophy cases.

Ruby looks around in astonishment; the architecture in here is truly awe-inspiring, marble walls with flags hanging from the connecting ceiling. All of it is joined together. They walk through the hall, past Mistraalian Knights who walk inside, the Huntsmen trained here. Ren looks into a room and observes a couple of Mistraalian Knights challenging each other in training, fighting with swords and shields, very similar to those that Pyrrha fought with. The Knights are skilled, swiftly and fluently dodging the attacks and countering their partners. Ren continues on, following Qrow and finally, after walking up the stairs they arrive at the Headmaster's Office.

Qrow pushes the doors open and they see the autumn coloured office inside. The office is shaped as a half-circle, with another, smaller half-circle jutting out to the room's front door.

A large desk made of mahogany dominates the space of the autumn-coloured office. In the right-hand corner, for a more comfortable setting, are a small table and chairs for guests. On the table is a tea set Ozpin gifted the current headmaster, Professor Lionheart.

Two tall bookshelves flank the front door. Spanning the far wall of the office and above the windows is a single shelf lined with books, boxes and lamps. Ladders are present to provide access to the high shelves. Much of the floor is open, and a large, rectangular green rug leads from the door to the desk. There are many boxes, books and papers scattered about the floor. The ceiling is slanted, declining from the front to the rear of the room. In the centre of the ceiling is a chandelier of four lights with square shaped shades.

And before them is the man they have come here to speak with.

Headmaster and Professor Leonardo Lionheart.

Lionheart is a middle-aged man with a mane of tanned gray hair and a beard. He has a tanned complexion with brown eyebrows and dark brown eyes; tanned skin appears to be a common appearance here in Mistral. He wears a brown great coat with a matching mantle, which has cross emblems on each side. He also wears a white dress shirt under his coat, a western neck tie and carried a pocket watch. Lionheart also wears dark brown slacks and dress shoes.

Professor Lionheart is sat at his desk.

There is a second man there, and he is a tall middle-aged man with a slim build and slightly tanned skin. He also has short black and gray hair as well as a moustache and green eyes. He wears a gray overcoat with yellow linings, a yellow dress shirt and a black necktie. His pants are the same colour as his overcoat. His yellow-buttoned undercoat and finger-less gloves match his cordovan shoes, under which he wears yellow socks.

He turns when he hears the doors open and he looks right at Ruby, immediately noticing the silver eyes. Ruby has no idea that she is looking right at Doctor Arthur Watts, one of Salem's Inner Circle Members. “Oh, I'm sorry Professor. I didn't know you had company.” Qrow apologises.

“No, no. It's alright.” Watts assures, standing up and finishing his tea with one last sip. “I was leaving anyway.” Watts says, a strong, refined voice as he speaks. He looks at Lionheart who smiles. “Thank you for the tea, Professor. Always a pleasure.” Watts says, turning and walking away from Lionheart's table.

He approaches the group, hands behind his back as he looks at Qrow Branwen. “I heard of your feats recently.” Watts says with the tone of a man who is impressed, clearly talking about the death of the Nuckelavee.

“Oh – ha, ha – it was nothing.” Ruby shyly giggles, batting the compliment he delivered.

“Quite the effort, I must say I am impressed. That beast had plagued the lands for too long, remember to go to the Bounty Collection Unit, they most likely have a reward waiting for the five of you.” Watts states.

“Five – they’re the ones that killed it, I was barely conscious. Crazy scorpion Faunus attacked me.” Qrow scoffs, and Watts stares at him, chuckling quietly to himself. Because he knows who that man is – Tyrian Callows.

“How intriguing...well, I shan’t waste anymore of your time. Welcome to Mistral.” He greets with a smirk.

He walks past Ruby, his eyes watching her but his head does not even move. Ruby watches him leave the office as the doors shut behind him. She squints her eyes suspiciously as he leaves.

Lionheart looks at Qrow.

“Qrow, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Lionheart asks him, his hands held out respectfully, yet still sounding quite timid and nervous.

“My Niece and I have come here to speak to you about...a development.” Qrow explains to him.

“Ah yes, about Beacon I presume?” He asks.

“No, about Salem.” Lionheart’s eyes widen with fear, staring at the youngsters.

“Qrow – the children! What happened to discretion?” He questions.

“They already know, I filled them in and I trust them. Saved my ass, you know. You can trust them too.” Qrow explains, and the Headmaster sighs. Lionheart leans back and he presses a button on his desk. The windows shut and the door locks. Lionheart stands up and he walks around the room, picking up his tea.

“Salem?” Lionheart questions, looking out the closed window.

“Yeah.” Qrow answers.

Lionheart turns and looks at Ruby. He sets his tea down on the table as he approaches her, crouching down, looking at her.

“You have...”

“Silver eyes, yeah I know.” Ruby finishes for him with a smile. Lionheart chuckles, standing tall again. They have no idea that he is the man that is in league with Salem and her Warriors. And he is lying to them.

“I heard you managed to kill the Nuckelavee.” Lionheart says with a smile, despite Watts bringing that up earlier. “Very impressive, no Huntsman has ever managed that.” Lionheart states.

Ruby looks at Ren and he stands there, not saying a word of why he hated that thing so much.

“Well, some of us had a past with it.” Ruby points out.

Lionheart's eyebrows raise and he walks over to his desk again. “We came here to help defend Haven, because we think that Salem is going to attack here next.” Ruby explains to him.

Lionheart crosses his arms and looks at them.

“After Beacon, I have had my Knights preparing if that day ever comes. Things like Beacon do not happen overnight.” Lionheart states to Ruby. Then he sighs, closing his eyes painfully. “Even when the Broadcast happened...the Grimm came in sieges, destroyed many villages and killed many people...we lost a lot of Huntsmen and Huntresses that day. Teachers and Students alike...” He sighs.

They did not even think of that, Penny’s death aired live to the whole world to see. The chaos must have happened everywhere at once. “Mistraalian Regions are the widest reaching in the world, you know...and that makes it infinitely harder to protect...”

He slowly turns back to them after staring at his Kingdom from his window.

“So then...what gave you this hint?” He asks her.

Jaune twitches at just the mere mention of the name...Cinder...

“The Fall Maiden...she was killed by an Assassin named Cinder Fall.” Jaune explains, since he was there when Cinder killed Amber in the Chamber. “She said she came from Haven Academy.”

Lionheart looks at them, and his expression is confusing. Like he does not recognise that name. “Cinder Fall?” He asks.

“Yeah, do you know anything about her?” Jaune asks.

“No, I know the names of all of my students that have been here at Haven. That is not a name that I recognise. It was most likely nothing more than just lies and forgeries...” Lionheart explains, and depending on how much he knows about Salem's Inner Circle, he could be lying for all they know. Jaune snarls with anger, clenching his hands into fists out of anger, Ruby looks at him and her eyes widen when she sees that rage in him. “But, I guess a few extra Huntsmen cannot hurt. Stay, it would be nice to have some new friendly faces around here. And since you managed to kill the Nuckelavee of Kuroyuri – that makes you very special and honoured guests to Mistral.” Lionheart says to them all.

Ruby looks at Qrow and he just nods, because he trusts Lionheart. Ruby and the others respectfully bow to Lionheart and he smiles.

“Thank you, Professor.” Ruby says to him.

They turn and leave the Office, leaving Lionheart on his own to think to himself. Ruby walks down the steps and Nora sighs.

“Well that was anti-climactic.” Nora sighs.

“Hey, we made it. That's what counts.” Jaune points out, finding the good side in anything as usual.

“We'll find the answers we need.” Ren says, sounding optimistic considering.

Qrow lets out an audible sigh.

“You guys go on ahead; I'm gonna go get a drink.” Qrow says, turning and walking down the stairs.

“What should we do?” Ruby asks him. Qrow chuckles, turning to look at them.

“That is all up to you, pipsqueak.” Qrow says.

Qrow continues on, walking down the stairs.

 

**Qrow**

 

Qrow is sat on the bar stool, his hand around the small glass with alcohol in it. Even after getting slashed by a Scorpion Tail and suffering from the poison for hours, he still drinks. Qrow drinks some from the glass, the ice cubes inside bouncing off one another.

He is constantly thinking, about what Lionheart said, he feels like Lionheart was lying just from how quickly he said that he didn't know who Cinder was. And he is informed on all of this, so how come he pushed them away so quick?

He has so many questions, and for once he doesn't actually have all the answers.

But then he hears a voice behind him. “Excuse me?” A young boy asks politely. Qrow turns, seeing the young Farm Hand Boy behind him, with messy black hair, and hazel coloured eyes.

Oscar Pine.

The boy that Professor Ozpin merged Auras with somehow...

Qrow is honestly surprised to see a kid of his age in a bar, so he turns to face him.

“You know, I think you're a little young to be in here, pipsqueak.” Qrow says to Oscar with a smirk.

Oscar looks up at him nervously.

Oscar rolls his eyes at something.

“Shut up, I'm getting there.” He mumbles to himself.

Qrow's eyebrow lifts up now, since he knows that there is something strange about this young boy.

Oscar now looks up at him. “Um...” He begins. “I'm supposed to tell you...I'd like my cane back.” Oscar says, hearing what Ozpin asked of him to do in his head. Qrow's eyes widen slightly and then a smile forms on his face as he nods. He gets up from the stool and looks down at Oscar. He picks up the retracted Cane in his hand. Oscar looks at him nervously still. Qrow scoffs with surprising at this circumstance.

He looks at Oscar.

"It's good to see you again, Oz." Qrow greets, throwing the Cane to Oscar.

Oscar catches the cane and the cane extends out and Oscar holds it carefully, like he is afraid of it.

He then looks right at Qrow.

_Who is this guy?_

_That...Oscar Pine...is Qrow Branwen...my most trusted agent._

_He’s drunk._

_Nobody’s perfect._

**Blake**

Her long raven black hair gently dances in the breeze that runs across her body, her feline amber eyes gaze down at the army that they have gathered over the past month. Multiple Faunus Mercenaries and loyalists to the Belladonna Name – even friends and family are taking part here. It hurts her soul to see so many young people here, teenagers younger than her are fighting for them. But she cannot tell them they cannot; they did choose this after all, so the consequences are theirs to accept.

She holds Gambol Shroud in her hand, the blade by the sandy floor. Huge dunes of sand rising and falling like the waves of an ocean across the ground. She now knows what drives Sun, and she knows what drives her to fight like this. She exhales to get the stress from her system.

She blinks, seeing the land.

The sound of a distant explosion perks her ears.

Her heart is beating erratically, her hand shivers with fear from the anticipating battle that is coming. Like electricity before a storm hits, she knows that this is going to be a tough battle. She constantly goes over the plan in her head over and over again.

_The army keeps the main forces distracted_

_Sun and I infiltrate the base from behind_

_Capture the White Fang Lieutenant and interrogate him back home_

Blake hates the fact that they need to throw the lives of these brave souls into the fray just so then two Hunters can gain access whilst the main forces of the White Fang are distracted. But at the end of the day, this is what War looks like – sacrificing the lives of hundreds to help create a better tomorrow.

Suddenly a huge hand grasps her shoulder, her eyes widen with shock, jolting when she turns and sees her father stood there, looking at her. He has a proud smile on his face as he looks at his beautiful daughter. Kali is here as well, helping prepare the soldiers for the coming battle. She is also going to fight as well; she has her two long daggers sheathed on her belted scabbards. They have the Belladonna black and gold colour scheme on them, serrated edges, whereas Ghira has no weapon at all.

Because he is a Panther Faunus, one that extends a multitude of razor sharp claws from his fingers that he can use to cut his enemies apart with. Ghira looks ahead; Sun is stood in one of the trees with his tail wrapped around the trunk, staring across the desert where the base is. A small fortress that the White Fang have taken over for their own usage, cannons loaded up in the towers that patrol the dunes ahead. “Are you ready, my daughter?” Ghira asks her, Blake closes her eyes and she breathes in, then exhaling to let the stress out.

“Are you?” Blake asks him, nervously as well, she still remembers the Battle of Beacon like it was yesterday. Ghira looks down at her and he chuckles, looking at his other hand as his claws slowly extend from his nails, sharp as steel blades, serrated edges on them too.

“I guess not – nobody is really ready for a battle. But we will fight none the less.” Ghira says to her, speaking with experience from his life in warfare. Ghira then looks at Sun, seeing him stood on that branch, staring at the fortress with his hand clenched tightly. He is not blind – he can tell that he has suffered from the violence of the White Fang as many others have. “Your friend is acting – differently.” Ghira states, and Blake’s eyes sombrely descend, her lids slightly hang over his eyes as she thinks about what he told her.

About his parents and what Hazel did, despite her not knowing who he is at that point. Ghira notes her silence and he raises his black brow. “Is there a problem?” He asks her, but she shakes her head.

“It’s just that...he told me why he always protects me, why he cares...” She softly tells him, and he looks down at her.

“Why?” He asks, he can probably guess that he has a crush on his daughter, but now it is clear that there is a deeper reason.

“He doesn’t want to fail anybody else again, even though it was not his fault for what happened.” She sighs, feeling for him as she looks at the Monkey Faunus in the tree. Ruyi Jingu Bang is resting against the tree beneath him, still in its staff form but they can be certain that he will use the Gun-Chucks when the time arises.

“What do you mean?” Ghira inquires.

“In short? The White Fang took his parents from him, and he blames himself for not being able to save them. He doesn’t want the same to happen to me – or you and mom.” She explains, and then Ghira looks at the boy in the tree again. It all begins to make more sense to him now...everything that Blake told them about him...

How he followed Blake...

Looked after her when she ran...

Followed her when she chased after Ilia...

He has always looked out for her safety and for her happiness, because in his eyes – as long as she is happy – so will he. He sighs, feeling bad for the boy and for being so hard on him, but he does not say anything. He walks forward; Kali and Blake both follow him towards the ridge of the cliff. The three of them stand at the edge of the cliff where it meets the dunes, and Sun hops down beside them, stood beside Blake.

He smiles kindly to the girl he has such strong feelings for. “You ready?” He asks her.

She looks at him and nods. “Yeah...I'm ready.” Blake agrees, walking over to him.

Ghira turns to the first wave of soldiers, drawing his battle axe and he lets out a powerful roar, pointing at the fortress. “Brothers and Sisters of the New White Fang! Are you ready to begin the new step for the Faunus?” Ghira bellows, his voice echoes across the land.

The many soldiers cheer, throwing their weapons in the air with patriotic cheers for their cause. “Follow my lead! The attack begins now! For all those who have been wronged, and taken from us!” He continues, looking at Sun as he roars. Then he points his axe at the Fortress.

“Let us control our own fate! For the Faunus!” He bellows.

“For the Faunus!” The soldiers cheer.

“Attack!” Ghira howls, leaping off the cliff and taking off at the front, and the soldiers all follow, diving straight down to the sandy dunes beneath. They all roar as they charge towards it, firing guns at the fortress to take them all down. The gunfire echoes for miles and miles, and the White Fang inside the Fortress were not prepared for that attack, staggering to their defensive positions.

The White Fang Lieutenant slowly looks over his shoulder, his eyes glare through his mask that covers his whole face. He clenches his hand into a tight fist, and then he kicks his Chainsword into his hand, activating the thousands of metal teeth that spin round. “Damned Belladonnas...what are you waiting for, you fools?” The White Fang Lieutenant bellows, the same Lieutenant from the Train that vanished after defeating Weiss in combat before the train crashed seven months prior.

The soldiers nod their heads, and they pick their rifles up, getting to their positions and preparing to battle, sending soldiers out into the dunes to battle against the forces as Ghira leads the charge. The Lieutenant turns, and stood there is Adam Taurus but in his holographic form.

“It appears we have a development...” The White Fang Lieutenant growls with a snarl. Adam clenches his hand into a fist with anger, gritting his teeth.

Back at the Cliff Face, Sun and Blake watch the battle from where they are, they must wait until Ghira sends the signal, a purple flare will rise into the sky to tell them to infiltrate the base.

They walk side by side over to the cliff face where the battle is erupting below. The New White Fang against the Current, warriors and mercenaries battling it out against the terrorists below. Swords clang and scrape against one another, gunfire ringing out and killing people left and right. One of the Mercenaries slashes his Khopesh across the neck of one of the White Fang Militants, slicing his head off his shoulders. Crimson Red Claret sprays into the air from his shoulders as his body slumps to the ground.

A bullet suddenly flies towards that Mercenary and erupts out the other side of his head, killing him instantly from the sniper that killed him in the watchtower.

Blake covers her mouth, hand shaking with fear, until she feels Sun’s hand touch hers gently. “You okay?” He asks her affectionately.

“Y-Yeah...I just want this battle over as soon as possible.” Blake states, and Sun nods his head in agreement.

Sun hands Blake an earpiece that was provided by one of the Mercenary Captains they hired. They test it.

“Hey you hear me?” Sun loudly shouts.

Blake reacts with a jump and her ears fold in annoyance, then she smacks him on the back of the head with a smile. “Ow!” He exclaims, grabbing the back of his head.

“Not funny, you dork.” She groans, shaking her head. But, she is happy to see the real Sun back with her again. Sun chuckles, smirking away as he stands there, but then he returns to his strategic mode, like a robot how quickly he makes that switch.

They patch into one of the Recon Scouts that the Captain sent out. “Did you see anything when you scouted it out?” Sun inquires, whilst Kali speaks to the rest of her men.

“Alright, when I was scouting I didn't see any sign of Adam Taurus. But I did see a White Fang Lieutenant in there, taking him into custody would really help us out.” The scout reports to them.

“You got it, buddy. Don't worry, everything's gonna be cool.” Sun assures, looking at Blake. He nods and she smiles, nodding back. Blake contemplates on what she just heard from him, and Sun raises his brow. “What’s up?” He asks her.

“The Lieutenant...we never did capture that one on the train when we stopped Torchwick seven months ago. Before the Vytal Festival.” Blake explains, then Sun’s eyes widen because he remembers him from that assembly of White Fang to meet Torchwick and Neo prior to that Train Battle.

“Wait, you mean that big masked dude with the accent before they saw Torchwick?” He asks her, then she remembers back there as well, they both saw him there.

“I remember him...when I was with the White Fang he was a friend of mine and Adam’s...he was always more ruthless than Adam ever was.” Blake explains, remembering the man very well apparently.

“Jeez...he must be bad.” He says, looking at where her scar is on her body, even Blake touches it with remembrance. Still seeing Yang losing her arm in her memory when she attempted to save her from Adam’s sword.

“He’s merciless, and he won’t go down without a fight.” Blake advises, and Sun chuckles, picking Ruyi Jingu bang up.

“Good, I was hoping he’d put up a fight.” Sun says with a smirk, making Blake smile at his eagerness and ability to remain at her side at all times.

And then...

The flare shoots off into the sky, purple smoke trailing from the shell launched fifty metres into the sky. Kali stares at the flare and her eyes fold downwards slightly, she turns to her soldiers and she draws her small swords. “Come! Follow your leader, brothers and sisters! For the White Fang!” Kali cheers, and her soldiers cheer as well. Blake looks up and Sun and he raises his fist, and she rolls her eyes, fist bumping him.

Blake is slowly coming to terms with how to be like him, and she would be lying if she claimed that she did not enjoy it.

They both sprint to the edge and they jump off the cliff face towards the battlefield underneath them,

“Remember the landing strategy, Blake.” She thinks to herself.

She bends her knees when she lands on a rock and then she jumps onto the dunes of sand, sliding down towards a White Fang soldier. The soldier turns and meets the blade of Gambol Shroud. The purple streak of light trails behind her attack and Blake sends out a shadow clone of herself that tricks one of the soldiers. The Katana blade slashes straight across his mask and down his chest, cutting deep into his body. Sparks of armour fracture from the impact, then she whacks the scabbard across the face of the other soldier. She hits him so hard that spit and sweat sprays from his face, knocking him onto the ground from the aggressive impact. The soldier fires at her but the image bursts away.

Sun leaps at the soldier and smashes Ruyi Jingu Bang across the face of the White Fang militant, cracking the mask apart and then kicking him in the chest. They continue to sprint through the battlefield, explosions detonating in the sand where misguided rockets are fired from soldiers in the Watchtowers. The Mercenaries and Warriors take cover, firing weapons and fighting the enemies with melee weapons. Blake runs across the rocks towards a large group of White Fang and she jumps into the middle of them all. Kali battles behind her, rolling across the back of one of the soldiers as she drives both blades up the stomach of one of the White Fang so hard that they explode out the spine of that soldier, lifting his feet off  the floor. She ducks down and narrowly avoids the sword from a soldier that attacks her.

The worst choice he could have made is to attack the wife of Ghira Belladonna, he turns and screams with terror as the roaring man tackles her into the sand. He slashes his claws across his face and kills him instantly, catching the hammer of a soldier and throwing him into a rock in the sand so hard it breaks his back. Kali fights alongside her husband, sprinting into a jump, kicking a tall Scorpion Faunus in the chest three times, before she spins round in the air and brings her dagger down the top of his head, pinning his head into the sand. She spins round and throws her dagger right into the ribs of another soldier, where Ghira punches a soldier up the chest, slamming his head down into a rock.

Blake looks at her awesome parents who shred their enemies apart with their incredible fighting styles, and Kali looks at her. “Go! We’ll hold them off! Get to the Lieutenant!” Kali yells, and Blake nods, turning and following Sun.

They can definitely handle themselves.

“You’re parents are badasses.” Sun compliments.

“Something we have in common.” She replies with a smile, remembering how he described his own parents, which makes him blush affectionately for her compliment.

Blake swings Gambol Shroud straight at them, slashing through the armour and then she fires her pistol at the others, kicking one of them in the head. She spins through the air as she slashes both the Katana and its Scabbard across the same soldier’s body, creating a purple blur of aura and dust as she performs her incredible attack. She fires her handgun end swiftly, discharging up the head of a Heavy Soldier who carries a machine gun. The bullets pierce through his skull and she kicks him off the other cliff that heads towards the facility ahead of them. The soldier crashes against another, smaller soldier and they both plummet down the cliff, the living one screaming as he falls.

Sun erupts from out of nowhere, grabbing the screaming White Fang by the throat and smashing him into the ground. He runs at more of them, battering them in the head with his staff, smashing their masks apart. He grabs the horn of a Goat Faunus and throws him across the battlefield with all of his might. “Chose the wrong side fellas!” He shouts.

Blake karate kicks one of the soldiers in the head, then she brings her sword upwards, cutting through the armour and kicking him into the rock behind him. Blake gasps, ducking down when a soldier drives straight at her in a bike, firing bullets at her with one hand.

Sun jumps in the air, placing both hands together, initiating his semblance. A Via Sun erupts from him, golden in shape as it lunges at the soldier on the bike, grabbing him by the chin and throwing him from the bike. Sun lands on the ground, taking his hands away from each other which allows the Via Sun to despawn. Blake looks around, Faunus warriors charging forth at the White Fang, battling them with their swords like Samurai.

They’re soldiers don't stand a chance against these skilled combatants. The Mercenaries push forward, shooting their guns at the soldiers. One of the soldiers aims a rocket launcher at a Mechanised Suit that Roman Torchwick gave them months ago to prepare for the Battle of Beacon. The missile flies directly at the Mech, exploding against the arm of the suit, blowing the metal arm apart in a fiery explosion.

Sun detaches both Ruyi and Jingu and fires the shotguns at two more soldiers that tried to flank them, taking them out instantly. A bullet suddenly cracks from above, just missing Sun from a Sniper hidden inside of one of the watchtowers at the gate of the Fortress. The sniper goes to fire again, until a rocket comes blasting from one of the New White Fang militants, exploding inside the canopy of the tower. The deafening boom causes Blake’s ears to start ringing as the cloud of bright orange flames grows with black smoke swelling within it, throwing smouldering chunks of metal across the Menagerie Desert. Sun stumbles as he gets to Blake.

He turns to Blake. “Come on!” Sun calls as he runs over to the side wall, one where they can get the advantage on this Lieutenant.

Sun and Blake climb up the wall to get a better angle of what is inside. They get a look at the Lieutenant. It is indeed the same man who they fought on the train to stop Torchwick from unleashing Grimm into the city of Vale. He stands there, speaking to a holographic projection of Adam stood before him, speaking to him as well.

“What is happening out there?” Adam demands, his eyes blocked by the mask.

“We are under attack by some kind of alliance, I think it's the Belladonna girl.” The Lieutenant says, holding his chainsaw in his hand. The tattoos are very familiar here, as it is the same man, wearing the same full face mask. The red markings across it and speaking with a stern and powerful Bear-Like voice.

“Blake? I thought she ran like the coward she is.” Adam presumes, clenching his shaking hand into a fist.

“Guess again, pal.” Sun mutters, aiming Ruyi Bang at one of the White Fang guards with him. They are both waiting for the perfect time to strike on the soldiers defending the White Fang Lieutenant. Blake glares at Adam with a clenched fist and aiming her pistol at one of the soldiers with Sun. It sends chills across her body when she sees him stood there – to think she once loved that man.

Or she thought that she did.

“If you see her, bring her to me. I will kill her myself.” Adam orders.

The Lieutenant nods.

Sun grits his teeth with anger, his protective nature towards Blake taking over.

“Not on my watch.” Sun growls with anger, pulling the trigger and nailing the soldier in the side of the head. Blood splatters against the wall and the soldiers panic, aiming their firearms round towards the infiltrators. Blake throws a couple of boxes out of her way and she shoots her magnum at the soldiers with Sun, taking them out. One of the soldiers runs at her with a sword but she blocks the attack from the soldier and slashes her sword across the soldier's chest. Blake grabs the White Fang by the neck and throws him over the edge of the building.

The Lieutenant stares at her, ending the call with Adam.

“It will be done.” He snarls, lifting his chainsaw up and activating it, the teeth rotating round with the growl of the diesel powered engine. Blake glares right at the Lieutenant and she grits her teeth, sprinting straight at the Lieutenant as he approaches her. She did not forget what he did to Weiss on that train, and her anger takes over.

The Lieutenant swings his chainsaw at her with force, but Blake ducks down, dropping one knee down and majestically performing a limbo to avoid the blade. She stabs Gambol Shroud into his leg and he screams out in agony. She uses the hilt to clamber onto his back and wrap her legs around his neck. The Lieutenant roars in anger, swinging his chainsaw around to get her. She clenches her hand into a fist and punches him right in the side of the head with force.

Blake forces her body weight down and throws the Lieutenant across the floor. The Lieutenant yells out, his chainsaw sliding off the building. The Lieutenant gets right back up and Sun swings Ruyi Jingu Bang across the mask, fracturing part of it and revealing his left eye from the impact. He has a brown eye, clearly from seeing the one eye. The impact knocks him onto the ground. Blake points the blood coated blade of Gambol Shroud at him, his own blood from his leg where she stabbed him and Sun points Ruyi Jingu Bang at him.

“Party's over pal, you lose.” Sun says to him, not smirking because of what he vowed to do to the girl he loves with all his heart. The Mercenaries arrive at the building, aiming their assault rifles at him. He looks around and then looks straight at Blake, growling at her.

“Traitorous whore...” He growls, and Sun goes to punch him, but she steps in front of him with her beautiful face calming him, pressing her hand to his chest.

“Don’t bother, he’s always been like that.” Blake requests.

“He shouldn’t talk to you like that.” Sun says, his blue eyes not leaving his foes, but her face is the thing that calms him. He sighs and nods, standing down as the Mercenaries take him away.

“Take him into custody, we'll ask him some questions.” The Mercenary Captain orders. He walks over to them. “We'll get information from him.” He promises. Blake walks over to the machine that projected that live feed of Adam Taurus.

“I dunno, that guy is incredibly loyal, think you can break him?” Blake asks.

“We're not too worried.” The captain says, smirking and walking off. Blake looks back at the table. She then sees a document, her eyes focusing on it. She opens the document.

“What's that?” Sun asks her.

She looks at him with a smile. “It's a set of orders from Adam.” Blake says.

“Finally, luck's on our side.” Sun says with relief. Blake tracks the words and then it stops on a sentence.

_I leave you in charge here in Menagerie for now, keep an eye on Blake's parents. Make sure that they don't try anything, and if she turns up, take her and bring her to me in Mistral. I will be waiting._

Blake turns to Sun. “Mistral?” Blake says.

Sun chuckles.

“Looks like we're going to Mistral.” He says with a smile. “I did tell Neptune that I'd catch up sooner or later.” Sun says.

Blake smiles and then looks at the document.

He wanted her captured...

He will never stop.

Not until the world belongs to him, and Humanity’s either enslaved...or gone.


	6. Fury

**Weiss**

Scarlet opens the door from the house that Team S.S.S.N bought as a Safehouse, and he looks around for any Mercenaries. He turns back to Weiss and the others and he nods, walking outside with his Flintlock Pistol in his hand. His narrow grass green eyes examine each and every individual that walks by. Checking them for hidden weapons or for the tattoos on them that could match those of the Mercenaries that walk around here in disguise.

Just as those ones did that jumped her and Neptune earlier.

Sage takes point and Neptune gets Weiss in the middle of them so then she is safe. They walk through the crowds to get to the main building where Professor Lionheart currently is. Heading towards where Ruby is currently sitting inside of, a large house not far from the Dormitories of Haven Academy. But they have no idea that they are even inside of that building to begin with.

And they are aiming to speak with Professor Lionheart.

They carefully keep their eyes peeled for anything suspicious. Neptune leans over to Weiss' ear, covered by the hood. Her large blue eyes turn when she hears his voice.

“Who do think sold you out?” He asks her.

“I don't know, Klein wouldn't ever betray me. He's the only real family I have left. But no one else knew.” She whispers in return. Neptune keeps his eyes open for any Mercenaries that could be hunting her. Sage looks up at the rooftops and he actually sees some Mercenaries on the roofs with Sniper Rifles.

They wear black cloaks over their outfits. These ones are not trying to blend in, they wear a mixture of blacks, reds and golds over their bodies, not much armour on the Snipers, but the soldiers could be different. They also have glowing red goggles with three lenses that can forge together into one whenever they need to. Sage whispers into Scarlet's ears.

“Got guys on the rooftops.” Sage warns.

“Yeah, I see them.” Scarlet agrees, looking straight ahead. But then his eyes focus on the front of the crowd, a bunch of soldiers pacing towards them with thick trench coats, the same colour scheme. The trench coats are large enough to conceal a weapon, either a Sub-Machine Gun or even a fairly small Rifle. Scarlet looks carefully, seeing the tattoos on their necks. The same tattoo that the others have had. They are walking directly towards them as well. “Straight ahead.” Scarlet says to them all.

“Crap...” Weiss quietly whispers, squinting her eyes shut with stress beating through her bloodstream.

“Keep your head down, we'll hope that they don't notice you.” Sage whispers to her. “It'll be fine.” They walk on, closer to those mercenaries directly in front of them, and Weiss bows her head down, the only thing that they could see is maybe her button-nose and her white hair. But with Neptune stood with her she is even more shielded by his taller and broader body which protects her. She continues to walk, almost like Ruby does with her hood up, keeping her chin close to her collarbone.

The Mercenaries look at the Huntsmen and at her, but they don't really take notice, walking past them. Weiss exhales with relief when they pass by her, luckily not discerned towards her presence. Neptune places his hand on Weiss' shoulder and he carefully moves her to the left so then he can stand in front of the view of a sniper so then it might not notice her. Scarlet holds the grip of his Flintlock Pistol, ready to draw if he has to. His sword is at the ready as well, Sage also keeps his hand near his back so then he can get his sword unsheathed and fight anyone that challenges them.

Neptune looks through the crowd, struggling to notice any Mercenaries, as they do seem to blend in with the citizens of Mistral. Since many people tend to wear hats or hoods, it is hard to tell who is an innocent and who is a threat. Not only that but it is not just the Mercenary Organisation hunting Weiss that they need to be aware of, she has a public bounty on her head and freelance bounty hunters could surround them.

Scarlet whistles to them and he jerks his head towards an alleyway that moves up the hills, a shortcut towards the Academy. Scarlet carefully moves through the crowds in the market and they walk up the steps into the alleys. Scarlet reaches out to Weiss, taking her hand and pulls her up the step. Neptune walks up and turns, noticing a Mercenary. The same Mercenary that he electrocuted before in that puddle when they were chasing him and Weiss.

He looks right at the Mercenary and the Mercenary locks eye-contact with him. Recognising him. Neptune smirks, winking emphatically at him, jerking his head as he does it, like he did to Team N.D.G.O. The Mercenary's brown eyes widen and he growls in anger, his hair still stuck up from the electrical energy that coursed through him. “There! Get that guy!” The Mercenary yells, pointing at the blue haired man.

Neptune vanishes as the crowd passes between them and they run through the alleys to get away from them. They run to the left to hide in the shadows. Sage peers round and he sees the Mercenary and two others run into the alley. They aim their rifles, searching for them. “Where'd they go?” The Mercenary shouts in anger. They look around and they wait for them to emerge.

One of them sighs.

“Your rattled, let’s keep moving.” One of the other Mercenaries says, turning and walking away. The Mercenary stands there, watching the alley and then he growls in annoyance. He turns and walks away, huffing and puffing.

“We're clear.” Sage says with relief, stepping out from the shadows. He walks out and he walks down the alley to get to the Academy, they are very close to the top now. Scarlet walks beside Sage, looking around and Weiss walks with Neptune behind them. They look forward and there are two Snipers walking towards them.

They both stop and they stare directly them.

“Hey, what are you doing back here?” The Sniper barks, pointing at him, his Rifle slung over his shoulder.

“Hello, hello, hello...what's all this then?” Scarlet quirkily challenges with his arms held out and leaning back as he walks, walking towards the Sniper. Scarlet swings his fist right into the nose of the hooded sniper, making him recoil back aggressively. The other Sniper swings a punch right at Sage but he ducks down, punching him swiftly over and over again in the head. Sage smashes the head of the Sniper into his knee with enough force to break the visors of his Goggles. The Sniper lays on the floor, knocked unconscious. Scarlet swipes his leg across the legs of the Sniper, grabbing him by the head and smashes him straight into the floor. The Snipers are taken care of in a few moments and they stand there. Scarlet dusts his hands off, respiring, looking at Weiss and Neptune. “Let's go.” Scarlet advises as he kicks the last soldier across the head with his boot to finish him off.

Weiss looks at Neptune with wide eyes of amazement at their hand-to-hand combat skills. “They are good fighters.” Weiss softly giggles with surprise, remembering how he got knocked out of the Vytal Festival a few months ago.

Not very dignified.

“They are also Ex-Mercs.” Neptune says, walking forward.

They continue up the hills, getting closer and closer to the doors of the Academy. The push the doors open, where the dorms are. They follow the hallway down there towards the Grand Hall, walking across the wide open room. The four of them walk up the steps to where it leads towards Lionheart’s hall to his office. They pass by doors upon doors where high level Huntsmen sleep. But they walk straight through and then approach the Professor's Office.

Scarlet knocks on the door politely after clearing his throat.

“Yes?” Lionheart speaks up, looking down at his documents on his desk with some glasses over his eyes.

They push the doors open and Lionheart immediately knows who they are. “Neptune, Scarlet, Sage!” He cheers, standing up from his desk, holding his hands out with a smile.

“Hey, Professor!” Neptune greets with a smirk on his face, shaking his hand. Due to the informal nature he has with Team S.S.S.N it is clear that they are the Team R.W.B.Y of Haven Academy. He seems to like these boys quite a lot, perhaps because of their skill and wit.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” Lionheart asks them as he stands at his desk, the three of them stand in front of Weiss Schnee at the moment.

“Our friend here needs your help." Scarlet says, stepping aside with Sage and Neptune doing the same thing. Weiss approaches his desk and she slowly pulls her hood back to reveal her long curly white hair and large blue eyes, looking at the Professor. Lionheart recognises her face instantly.

“Weiss Schnee.” Lionheart gasps with disbelief, last he heard she was in Atlas with her father and General Ironwood. “What are you doing here?” He asks her.

“I am in trouble, and I need your help.” He says. “You have contacts that can help me change my identity, right?” She asks him.

“I do, why?” Lionheart wonders as he takes a seat, caressing his grey beard in his seat.

“Because my father and brother have paid Mercenaries to hunt me down.” Weiss explains.

“The Acolytes of Lien...” He snarls in annoyance, clenching his hand into a fist on his desk.

“So it is them?” Weiss asks.

“Yes...The Acolytes of Lien...the Mercenaries? Black and Red outfits?” He asks them, but they all nod their heads since they have a brief idea of who the mercenaries are. “They have been here in Mistral for a few years, they simply serve the highest payer. A private military that do not serve any Kingdoms of Remnant or believe in any gods – only in Lien.” He explains to them all.

The Acolytes of Lien are an Army of Mercenaries that exists across Remnant and they are incredibly dangerous depending on which side you are on. However they are not loyal to a person, they are only loyal to those who pay them the most amount of money. “Darren Ortega is their leader.” Lionheart explains to them all.

_This changes things._

“Can you help her?” Neptune asks.

“I can, but you must find my contact. His name is simply Sidewinder, small twitchy little guy. He works at the merchants. Speak with him, tell him this phrase. White Ursa, and he will understand.” Lionheart explains. Weiss nods to him with a smile.

“Thank you, Professor.” She kindly says, but his next words make her stop in her tracks before leaving with her friends.

“Although, you should check in with your friend Miss Rose, I believe you are part of Team RWBY, correct?” Lionheart suggests. Weiss' eyes widen in disbelief when she hears that name, and the others look at him the same way.

“She's here?” Weiss asks.

“She is indeed, I have in fact arranged that I have a meeting with her and the friends she is accompanied with. And her Uncle Qrow Branwen, since when they last spoke to me I did not have much time. You four are all welcome to reunite with them all at that time, but until then I recommend that you lay low for the time being.” Lionheart advises.

Weiss turns to look at Neptune, Scarlet and Sage with a smile and wide eyes and they look just as surprised.

“How long have they been here for?” Neptune asks him.

“Ruby Rose and her friends only showed up here yesterday...after they killed the Kuroyurian Nuckelavee.” He tells them, widening their eyes further.

“They killed the Nuck?” Sage questions.

“What’s a Nuckelavee?” Weiss inquires.

“Uh...we’ll tell you at the Safehouse. Proper scary story.” Scarlet assures, chuckling when he thinks about the monster.

“Think about it, my dear...you could do with as many allies as you can with the Acolytes of Lien hunting you.” He warns.

Weiss smiles.

“I will, Professor. Come on guys, let’s go.”

**Yang**

The snarl of Bumblebee’s Engine travels through the woodlands of Anima, the closer the pair of them get to the outskirts of Mistral. Beside her is Kassius who rides his own motorcycle, unlike hers it is dark grey with scratched off or rusted paint across its body. The bike looks similar to that of a Harley Davidson, however the handlebars are not reaching high like they would, instead they are in the same place as Yang’s.

Yang turns her head, then brushes her long blonde hair from her eyes to look at him as he drives, but before she can even say a word, her eyes widen and she gasps with horror from what she sees. “By the gods...” Yang gasps, as she passes by completely destroyed buildings. Some with deep scars across them and rooftops caved in from where Nevermores would have landed to eat the people inside, begging for mercy most likely. The village outside the walls of Mistral are completely annihilated, and there are no civilians inside of there anymore.

Skeletons of both humans and horses scatter across the village in different places; some people were eaten alive in tight cramped places. Others were just ripped apart in the streets by the Grimm that attacked them. Blood stains dried up and lost their crimson colour, only a dark brownish stain left behind on the dirt roads that passed through here. Yang carefully drives through, knowing that the Grimm could lurk inside of these houses still to this day, and to show respect to the dead left behind. “Wh-What happened here?” Yang asks him, he closes his eyes and he sighs.

“Beacon and Vale were not the only places to be hit by the Grimm when that little robot girl got ripped apart – everyone saw it.” Kassius explains, which makes Yang see it all again in the back of her mind. The horrific image of seeing those cables carving through Penny’s body like that was utterly soul destroying. Yang looks at one of the skeletons and it looks like a little dog, sending a chill through her body when she sees it.

_Zwei could have been like that..._

“You could feel the fear in the air...and all that negative emotion...well...the Grimm came in force.” Kassius explains, and Yang looks at him.

“Wait...this village is just outside the walls...why were they not saved?” Yang asks him, and Kassius looks at her.

“We tried...against our orders.” Kassius states and Yang gasps with disbelief.

“They ordered you to let them all die?” Yang questions.

“Professor Lionheart himself gave the order to all of the Huntsmen – few actually listened to him. Most of the people that fought with us suffered the same fates as the civilians; friends I trained and studied with were eaten alive right in front of me.” Kassius explains, shuddering when remembering the sight of one of them being pulled limb from limb by a pack of Beowulves.

Yang stares at the bodies and the cowardice of that man actually angers her, clenching her hand into a fist. “Why would he do that?” Yang asks, and Kassius sighs heavily.

“He wanted all Huntsmen to hold the walls against the Grimm; he had hoped the villages would distract them. But eventually they started to claw at the walls; we lost over half of the Kingdom’s Huntsmen fighting on that day.” Kassius explains, and then Yang sees the huge walls that surround the City of Mistral. The walls must be twenty five metres high with cannons placed atop them where the Mistraalian Knights patrol with rifles in their hands and swords sheathed in scabbards.

The state of the wall...

Is horrendous to this day...

Massive claw marks and cracks still lay imbedded on the walls, stretched out for as far as the eye can see. Where countless Grimm probably hammered their claws into the cement to climb up, where Nevermores and Griffins must have slashed their talons into. The scorch marks even suggest that some Grimm Wyverns attacked as well, considering that they do tend to live up in these Mountains and in the Canyons of Vacuo. Along with the Grimm Manticores and countless other beasts that lurk in the wilderness of this cruel world.

Little does she know that Weiss and Ruby are just beyond those walls in the huge City of Mistral, she can hear the crashing falls from where they are now. Their bikes slowly approach the gigantic gates of the Mistraalian Walls, where two Mistraalian Watchmen stand there with rifles in their hands. Kassius stands there, hand still pressed onto his bike as he looks at them. But the two Guards raise their hands. “State your business here.” One of the Mistraalians demands with a stern spoken voice, Kassius raises his brown brow with utter confusion.

“Eh? I live here you halfwit.” Kassius points out, but the two soldiers shake their heads.

“Not you, _her_.” The other Mistraalian Knight clarifies, pointing at the Blonde Haired Wonder.

“Yeah, Goldilocks, what are you doing here?” The soldier inquires, and she scoffs.

“Goldilocks?” She questions, planting her hand on her hip as she stares at them.

“Don’t try anything.” The soldier warns with a rifle pointed at her head, and Kassius sighs.

“She’s a friend of mine, one of her friends managed to make it through here already. The Nuckelavee-Slayers?” Kassius explains, which Yang subtly looks at him when noticing that he did not mention that she is her sister. Perhaps there is a reason for that; he has lived here in Mistral opposed to Yang. He is bound to be more experienced with dealing with the people here than she ever could; this is not Vale after all.

“You mean that Ruby Rose girl? Yeah she showed up here yesterday, she and her friends were exhausted.” The Mistraalian Guard agrees.

“She needs to find them; she is a good friend of theirs.” He states, and they both look at him then at her again. Kassius stares at them, and he can see something in their eyes, as if they recognise her face.

“I recognise you...” One of them softly says, which Kassius slowly clenches his hand into a fist. The only way that they would recognise her is through what happened with Mercury during the Vytal Festival.

“Yeah...you’re that chick who played dirty in the Vytal Festival.” The other one states, and Yang closes her eyes sadly, looking away from them. Kassius turns and can see the pain on her face from hearing them say that.

_Is that what people see me as?_

_Some kind of monster?_

Kassius looks at Yang as he hears the two of them chuckle, speaking about her, he can see her hand ever so slightly shaking and she has to hold it still with her cybernetic arm. Her breath is extremely shaken as she stands there, seeing her in such distress just angers him more and more and more.

He tightens his hands into fists, staring down at the floor as he closes his eyes, like he is trying to fight something. “You know, there’s a pretty nifty bounty on your head, you know?” One of the guards says with a scoff.

“Hey...” Kassius softly snarls with resentment.

“Mhm, quite a tasty one indeed. May even turn you in so then I could get some of that lien myself, too had that Pyrrha Nikos chick is dead. She would have made one hell of a prize after what she did.” The other Guard laughs as well, which makes Yang’s eyes turn red but it is not her that yells with rage.

“Hey!” He bellows with animalistic furor, glaring at them with twitching eyes that appear to have some sort of cracked marking around his eyelids, Yang does not notice them, but the guards do. Tiny embers and smoke trail from the fissures in the skin as he bellows, his roaring voice echoes into the street as he yells, silencing the merchants. They all gasp and stare at Kassius and Yang at the gates, and the Guards both gasp. As if they have just been rammed through the gut with a spear, their voices fall silent and eyes left gaping wide. “What’s wrong with you? You’ve gotta be kidding me...” He snarls softly as he stares at them with gritted teeth.

The two Guards look at each other fearfully before looking at the Huntsman who stands before them. As if they have something to fear of him, despite his kind personality there is something else much deeper to who he is. “Whoa, come on man? What’s the big deal? Was it something I said?” One of the Guards asks with a defensive tone of voice, stupidly not realising how cruel that was.

And not even realising the history these two have together.

Kassius erupts once again after he asks that question. “If you wanna die, then just keep talking!” Kassius bellows, arms tensely clenched and held back as if he wants to lunge at them like some feral beast. His eyes still faintly smoke as he stands there, glaring right into their eyes.

Before the event can get any further out of hand, another voice appears from behind the man, shutting their voices up. “Boys, let them both pass. We owe Kassius and his late team a great deal.” He says, which Yang’s eyes widen when hearing him describe Kassius’ team as _late._

_Is..._

_Is Kassius’ team dead?_

_Is that why he does not want to talk about it?_

Walking up behind the two guards that stand at the closed gate, is an older man with a strong voice and his hands behind his back. What Yang does not even realise is that this is Professor Lionheart, and with the sun beginning to set once again after their long journey, it seems he has come here to greet them. They are both exhausted from the trek on their bikes, but neither expected to be greeted by the Headmaster of Haven Academy.

Their eyes widen behind their helmets and they step back, to attention with rifle barrels held up to the sky and stood tall and backs straight. “Sir!” They both exclaim respectfully as they stand there, and Lionheart chuckles with his hands held together. Lionheart looks up at one of the soldiers by the crank which opens the gate.

“Son, open the gate for these brave warriors. I believe they could use a good night’s sleep.” Lionheart requests as he waves to the soldier, the Mistraalian Knight nods his head as he starts to twist the crank round with all the might in his muscles, and the thick metal gate slowly rises up before them. Kassius closes his eyes and the cracks fade away, skin and flesh healing back together and the smoke ceases to leave the marks that formed. He shakes the feeling off and he walks into the city with Yang walking beside him.

“Thanks, sir.” Kassius speaks, nodding to the Headmaster.

“No need, Kassius. We owe you a great deal, despite my orders you saved a lot of good people beyond those walls.” Lionheart says to him, which surprises Yang – the fact that he does not hide the fact that he made a cowardly decision. It could be because he regrets that decision and wants to atone. Kassius sighs, walking past him as he speaks.

“Not enough.” He tells the Headmaster, Yang watches as he walks off before she looks at Leo.

“Poor man, he has suffered a lot in the past few days. Hello my dear, my name is Leonardo Lionheart, and who might you be?” Lionheart asks her, holding her hand and gently kissing it with courtesy. Yang can’t help but blush since nobody actually does that back at Vale, so it is quite sweet of him to do so.

“Yang Xiao Long, seems I have a bit of familiarity here.” Yang states, looking at the two guards which were hassling her on what happened at the Vytal Festival.

“Ah yes, unfortunately it does seem that some rich people have placed bounties on a few heads. Weiss Schnee’s is one of them in fact, along with a young woman called Blake Belladonna. I heard from Ozpin you were all once a team.” Lionheart states as he walks with her, and Yang’s lilac eyes widen with shock and disbelief.

“Weiss Schnee and Blake Belladonna?” She gasps with shock, she may still have her issues with Blake after what happened but it is still a surprise to hear that they both have targets on the back of their heads.

“The very same indeed, I believe the Trinity Marshall has placed a fairly large bounty on the back of your heads. Two Hundred Thousand Lien for Weiss Schnee, One Hundred and Fifty Thousand for you and Miss Belladonna.” He explains to her, and Yang does not question the difference in reward between the three of them. Weiss is the Heiress of the Schnee Dust Company after all; it would make a whole lot of sense for her to be worth the most, especially when belonging to an Information Broker and Gang Boss like the mysterious Trinity Marshall.

Yang can feel her heart pounding heavily when she thinks on that, keeping her eyes on the many people that surround her. Gods knows any of these people could be Bounty Hunters and Mercenaries in clever disguises; she keeps her fists clenched and eyes at the ready. Although when walking alongside Professor Lionheart, she does feel a little safer because nobody would dare strike her with Leonardo at her side. Kassius however keeps walking ahead, keeping his eyes on the crowd. “So, my dear Miss Xiao Long...what brings you this far from Patch?” He inquires curiously which honestly scares her a little from the fact that he knows where she lives.

“How do you know where I live?” She inquires.

“I am the Headmaster of Mistral Academy, my dear. It is my duty to understand the information of people, and Professor Ozpin gave me information on the four of you and other teams of interest to him. Before his passing that is.” Lionheart explains as he walks with her, she sighs and closes her eyes as she walks, still unaware that Ozpin has paired with Oscar somehow.

“Well, I am looking for my sister. Ruby Rose.” She tells him and he raises one of his brows curiously.

“Really? Well luckily for you I spoke with her rather recently.” Lionheart reveals, and Yang stops, and even Kassius stops and looks back when he hears the Professor saying that. The two of them both stare at the professor with wide eyes and shocked looks on their faces. Yang is lost for words as she stammers before the Headmaster with his hands clasped together, fingers interlinked.

“R-Ruby? You spoke to her? How long ago?” She timidly yet desperately inquires with a tender voice.

“Hmm...About eight hours ago, she arrived in the morning and came to speak with me. She was accompanied with her uncle and her friends.” Lionheart explains.

“Was there a tall blonde guy, a short ginger crazy girl and a calm long black haired dude?” Yang inquires, describing the remnants of Team J.N.P.R perfectly. Lionheart chuckles at her perfect description of the three friends of hers.

“Could not have described them better myself, the blonde boy had a particular interest with that Cinder Fall girl that attacked Beacon Academy.” Lionheart points out; Yang squeezes her eyes shut sadly when she hears him say that. She clenches both hands into fists and tears stream slightly from her eyes...

“Pyrrha...” She softly whispers, feeling so sorry for him and every time she joked around and called him _Vomit Boy_. The recognition in Lionheart’s face is very clear, nodding his head as he stands before her.

“Ah...were the two of them close? I know that she was a part of Mr Arc’s team.” Lionheart remembers, looking at Yang, all she does is smile and nod. “I see, well when you see them all tomorrow I will give my regards.” He says to her, which stops Yang.

“Wait, tomorrow?” She asks.

“Yes. It is late and I believe they have earned a rest, as have you and your friend Weiss Schnee.” He states.

“Weiss is here?” Kassius inquires.

“Indeed, she seems to have a dangerous tail as well here in this city. It would be best to lay low; I will have an official meeting with you all to be reunited tomorrow at eight o’clock. I’m sure you can wait one more night?” He presumes, and Yang sighs, looking at Kassius.

“You can stay round mine for the night.” He offers with a shrug.

Yang smiles and she nods to him. “Thank you, Kas.” She sweetly says and he smiles back, nodding as he walks on ahead. Yang follows him but she stops and looks back at Professor Lionheart.

“Thank you, professor.” She sweetly says.

He smiles back.

“It was my pleasure, Miss Xiao Long.” He states, nodding back to her.

 

**Ruby**

Ruby is laid back on one of the red sofas positioned across the lounge of the house that Qrow managed to rent for them to stay at for the time being. The room is large with two double red sofas in the centre and a single red chair of the same design between them, and a coffee table in the middle on top of a Mistraalian Coloured carpet. Behind Ruby and Ren is a large glass greenhouse with beautiful plants growing inside, and staircases which lead to their bedrooms, one on the left above the kitchen, and the other above the bathroom.

Nora and Jaune are both playing a game on the coffee table, the same game that Team R.W.B.Y were playing back at Beacon when Yang managed to beat every single one of them at it in a couple of moments. Because Ruby was foolish to challenge Yang and because Weiss was far too trusting. Their weapons rest against the walls of the living room, with Qrow still out there probably with Oscar at the moment.

Ruby is laid back on the sofa with Ren sat next to her, both of them reading their books. Well, Ruby is  reading a Manga Collection and Ren is reading a book of Remnant he borrowed from the Library. Just called the _Ballads of Remnant_ , not surprising of him to read something like that. “Oh come on! How are you so good at this?” Nora questions, planting her hands on her hips and biting her lip with suspicion, staring directly at him.

Jaune chuckles softly.

“What can I say? I’m a natural born leader.” He chuckles.

Nora giggles. “Yeah, I guess you are.” She lays out the cards once more, and Ruby grounds, pushing her head back into one of the pillows as she sighs. She closes her Manga collection up and sets it down on the floor beside her as she lays there.

“Why does he have to take so long?” Ruby groans with utter boredom.

“You can join us, Ruby.” Nora suggests with a smile on her face.

“Nah, I’m terrible at that game.” Ruby denies.

“Well don’t say you’re bored then.” Nora states with a smirk, and Ruby blows a raspberry at her.

Ren chuckles at their childish humour, which gets her attention. She looks at the name of that book that he reads and it is curious to her. “Hey watch’ya reading?” Ruby curiously asks him. Ren looks at her and he sets the book down on the sofa between them.

“It’s the Ballads of Remnant, I borrowed it from the Library. Some of these Ballads are really interesting.” He says to her.

“Yeah?” Ruby says.

“Like this one...I don’t know what it means.” He says to her, so Ruby examines the one that he has pointed at with his finger.

 

_ The Grand Lord of Redcrossing _

_Why, oh why must I bow down to you._

_A group of measly peasants?_

_Spoke the Grand Lord of Redcrossing,_

_Demanding his people work harder and harder – for his own goal._

_Gold, women, food, wine and power,_

_Tis all the reward he knows for his effortless acts._

_Though judgement comes for all men,_

_No matter wealth, age or gender._

_When he comes – one should allow him entry with kindness,_

_And think carefully on their wishes._

_“Riches, food and power...this is what I demand”_

_Spoke the Grand Lord of Redcrossing._

_But now the ashes lay on the once green fields,_

_With only one body residing._

_Wishes be granted..._

_But not what he wanted._

_And with all he asked..._

_He be left behind with not a soul to share with._

Ruby takes her eyes off the Ballad, and it gave her some chills from what she read. “I’ve read a few Ballads but nothing like that before.” Ren tells her, and Ruby stares at the Ballad, feeling like she has recognised it before in some way. Perhaps she read it as one of her homework projects set by Doctor Oobleck before everything went wrong back at Beacon.

But she cannot decipher its meaning either.

“I dunno, Ren...it’s interesting though.” Ruby adorably says, making Ren smile.

Their moment of sharing interests is broken up though when they hear a knock at the door which gets their attention. They all look up from what they are doing and look at each other. Jaune stands up, and he approaches the door and opens it up, greeted by the darkness of the night. The Fractured Moon hangs over their heads, watching their lives from its lonely place in the sky.

Jaune’s eyes eventually drop down when he realises that the person he is greeted with is in fact a short young man, around the same age as Ruby now. His black hair is messy and his hazel coloured eyes look up at Jaune Arc. He is clearly shy, and none of them have any idea that this is Oscar Pine. “Can I...help you?” Jaune asks the young man.

“Uh...yeah...is there a Ruby Rose here?” Oscar asks nervously, and when they all hear that, they all stand there, staring at him suspiciously. After what happened with Tyrian they are not overly trusting towards anyone who asks for her name.

“Why?” Nora aggressively asks, Ruby looks at her and then at Jaune, unable to see Oscar from behind him.

“Um...” Oscar shyly says, until suddenly Qrow stumbles up to him, nearly knocking him over as the tall middle aged man grabs him by his shoulders.

“Look who it is!” Qrow laughs drunkenly, stumbling past him after poking his nose.

“I think her uncle could use some help.” Oscar advises, and they all sigh with disappointment towards Qrow as he throws his body onto one of the sofas, resting his arm over his eyes. Ruby rolls her large silver eyes before she presses her hand to her face.

“I found him...” Qrow mutters indistinctly.

“Uncle Qrow...did you get drunk...again?” Ruby asks with a heavy sigh, then a laugh emerges from Qrow as he lays on the sofa.

“Maybe...” He slurs, making Nora giggle at seeing him like that. Ruby turns to go get him a glass of water so then he can recover, but she stops when Oscar speaks.

“Whoa...” He softly says, and she slowly turns to look at him. “You have silver eyes...” He gasps, and Ruby raises her brow, looking at Ren, Nora and Jaune.

“Who...are you?” Ruby inquires nervously.

“Ha, ha...” Qrow drunkenly slurs from the sofa.

“Well...” Oscar timidly speaks with his hands behind his back as he stands there. “My name is Oscar Pine...but I have been paired with someone you know.” Oscar informs them.

“Wait for it...” Qrow slurs.

“Who?” Jaune asks.

Oscar sighs. “Somebody called – Professor Ozpin.” He answers.

All of their eyes widen and they gasp with shock, Jaune even staggers with disbelief from what he last remembers Ozpin doing. And what happened to Pyrrha because of his cruel actions he made.

Qrow chuckles as he lays there.

“I did it!” He slurs as he throws his arms and legs in the air.

Before slumping off the chair.

“Oof!” Nora squeaks.

 

**Blake**

Blake smiles happily as she takes a sip from her drink, sat at the table with Sun next to her, Ghira at the end of the table and Kali opposite to her daughter and her friend that they have just met. Ghira’s chuckle is powerful, and she looks down at her plate with cooked steak before her eyes. Sun is digging in, speaking whilst eating somehow which is impressive even for him. “I must say Sun, you may be annoying at times, but you sure know how to fight.” Ghira compliments.

“Thanks, Mr Belladonna. But I wouldn’t have made it as far as I did if it weren’t for Blake.” Sun compliments, gently bumping her shoulder which makes her gasp. She smiles afterward then she picks one of her pieces of broccoli with her fork and goes to bite it.

Suddenly a flash of combat forms in her eyes and she gasps, yelping almost which gets their attention. Kali and Ghira both look at her, and Sun’s eyes have not left her other hand. Which has been clenched into a fist for a while now. “Blake? Are you okay?” Sun asks her with concern in her voice. Seeing warfare like that is not something she has ever been used to seeing. Fighting Grimm and White Fang is one thing but seeing real bloodshed like that, real warfare...it is something else entirely.

“Yeah...I just think the battle...I’m just a little shaken still.” She stammers, Ghira looks at Sun and they both begin to feel bad. They had both been talking about that battle non-stop for this whole dinner.

“Blake...I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking.” Ghira apologises.

“Yeah, me too.” Sun affectionately says.

“It’s okay...I think I’m...just gonna take a minute outside.” She says to him, standing up and walking away from the house, opening the door and walking out into the street. Kali watches her leave and she sighs.

“She hasn’t been the same since she returned from Beacon.” Kali says with a sad sigh.

“It’s no surprise after what happened there.” Sun states, taking a bite from his stake. Ghira and Kali both look at him curiously.

“What do you mean, Sun?” Kali asks. Sun’s eyes widen when he realises that Blake has not told her about what happened to Yang, about the scar on her belly – perhaps not even her father either.

“She hasn’t...oh well if she hasn’t then I won’t spill.” Sun states with his hands held up.

“Mr Wukong...I am asking you as a father, please tell me if it is important. What happened there...to her?” Ghira asks him, staring at him and he looks back, seeing she has walked far away into the street now.

He sighs and closes his eyes.

“Adam Taurus was there at Beacon when it fell, he attacked Blake and he...well Blake said he made a promise to kill everything she ever loved.” Sun explains, making both parents feel worried since Adam was never one to make idle threats.

“What happened then?” Kali inquires.

“Her best friend – a human girl called Yang Xiao Long, she was there and Blake heard her calling out to her. Adam figured it out quick and he...”

“What did he do?” Ghira sternly asks.

“He stabbed her so then she would scream, Yang was always prone to rage...she leapt at Adam but he cut her arm off before she could do any damage...she has blamed herself ever since. It is why she left her team behind...I bet that’s what she would have told you if I hadn’t...been such an idiot.” Sun sighs, pushing his hand through his hair as he puts his fork onto his plate.

Ghira clenches his hand into a fist with anger and hatred towards the man...knowing he hurt his little girl. “Don’t blame yourself, Sun...You had no idea what she and her father were talking about.” Kali kindly says, but Sun scoffs.

“Doesn’t make it right.” Sun states, and Ghira looks at Sun, seeing how much he cares for her. And not just in a way a crush would, he deeply cares for her as a person.

Only one other person did that with her.

“Sun...” Ghira quietly says, looking at Sun, to get his attention. “Go after her...she needs you.” He says to her.

“But she...”

“Sun...”

Sun sighs and he nods to her father, standing up and walking out the door to catch up with her.

As Blake walks through the town of Kuo Kuana...

She stops at a puddle, looking down at her own reflection with a tear that drops from her eye. The sight flashes before her eyes again, the sight of Adam staring at Blake in the burning Mess Hall, plunging Wilt and Blush into her side. She can still remember the burning hot sensation of pain that was inflicted as that blade was cut deep into her side. “Get away from her!” Yang’s voice screamed in her memory, and how she begged her not to attack him...

The sight of seeing her arm come off like that...

“I shouldn’t have left...” She sniffles softly, brushing the tear away sadly. Sun approaches her from behind, sensing her sadness, so he carefully walks to her.

“Hey...” He quietly speaks, looking at her, she gasps and turns to look at him.

“H-Hey...” Blake nervously responds, brushing the tears from her eyes and cheeks away.

“Are you okay?” He asks her, seeing the bloodshot and tears still reflecting in her eyes.

“Y-Yeah...I just...” She stammers, but Sun holds her hand as he looks at her. She looks into his blue eyes as she sniffles.

But then a third voice emerges...

Not the voice that they were expecting.

“Blake...Sun...” Ilia whispers, and they both gasp, drawing their weapons and pointing them in the direction that they heard her voice. She slowly emerges from the darkness, her skin changed colour to black to match the darkness. She slowly approaches them with eyes focused on them.

Ilia is a young woman and a chameleon Faunus. In her normal appearance, her skin has somewhat darker spots on her arms, legs and face. Her brown hair is tied back in a ponytail that curls at the end like a chameleon's tail, and her eyes are a light gray with a faintly bluish tint. Her Faunus trait grants her the ability to change the colour of her skin, hair and eyes, allowing her to blend in with her environment. Her colours also appear to change in response to her emotions, and at the moment they appear to be rather blue with sadness, yet she looks terrified.

As a White Fang member, she would be wearing a Grimm Mask with chameleon horns on it to hide her identity. Her mask also points upward at the top and extends past her hairline; this resembles the crest of a veiled chameleon. However she does not have the mask on, she shows the beauty of her face to the two of them. She wears a black, plum and navy sleeveless stealth suit with short legs. The suit has two parts to the bottom section - a navy blue front panel that matches her belts and a plum colour to the rest. The colour divide is at the centre of her thighs. The stealth suit's zipper is gold, and over it, she wears navy blue belts with gold buckles. She wears simple black boots with a cuff and a black glove on her right hand.

Sun grits his teeth, detaching Ruyi Jingu Bang to aim the Gun Chucks at her. “Ilia...I still owe you from last time! Remember this!” He yells with rage, grabbing his shirt and pulling it aside to show the still healing scar from where she swung her electrified whip into him. She does not have her weapon out at the moment, her hands are held above her head as she stands there.

“I’m not here to fight you...” Ilia assures with an anxious voice.

“Then why are you here, Ilia?” Blake questions, aiming her pistol at her once friend. “You could have attacked me back on the rooftop but you didn’t – why?” Blake questions.

“That doesn’t matter...” Ilia states.

“Yes it does!” Blake shouts angrily.

“Listen to me! It’s already having an effect on you as it has everyone else.” Ilia warns, and now they look confused and concerned, looking at each other for answers. But neither have the answers to their questions.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Sun questions with a growl, so Ilia points around them all.

“Look around you – look at the civilians.” Ilia advises, so Blake does so, examining the many people that are around them. And Blake notices what she notices, there are a few people outside starting fights with other people, two grown men are battering each other with their fists. Kicking each other and throwing their large bodies into the walls. “I saw it...it is already in Kuo Kuana and it has an army of Grimm with it...it’s going to destroy this place.” Ilia tells them.

“What are you talking about? What is here?” Blake asks.

Their hearts almost stop when they hear a truly terrifying demonic bellow from the town of Kuo Kuana, unlike anything they have ever heard. Like a collection of enraged soldiers bellowing at once in the distance, and the smell of burning wood fills the air, giving them chills as well. “You need to leave Menagerie now...please...it’s over for Kuo Kuana...” Ilia says, but when Blake turns.

Ilia is gone.

Sun looks around and she has vanished into thin air.

Then the screams rise around them as they hear the screeches of Nevermores overhead, slashing people and picking them up. “Mom...Dad!” Blake realises with a scream, turning and sprinting back to the house. She runs ahead of Sun and she can see the doors are open but her parents are not inside.

“Kali! Ghira!” Sun yells as he stands inside of the large room.

Blake turns to leave as she draws Gambol Shroud.

They now hear screams everywhere and the sirens begin to blare across the entire town of Kuo Kuana. “Come on!” Blake calls to Sun, running to the door.

Until the door unexpectedly slams shut in front of them. “What?” Blake mutters. She looks through the glass window in the door and she sees Kali on the other side, the one who locked the door. “Mom?” Blake stammers in fear for her safety. She tries to open the door but Kali pushes it shut, slamming one of her blades down into the lock to keep it secured so then they cannot get free. “What are you doing?” Blake screams. Kali holds another dagger in her hand, she is a warrior too. She looks her beautiful daughter in the eyes, and this is becoming very similar to what happened to Sun's parents.

“No...Not again...” He mutters, clenching his hand into a fist.

“Listen to me, baby...you have to hide and then get to the ship at the docks! Get to Mistral!” Kali begs with tears in her eyes, voice breaking as she speaks. She is protecting her daughter like the mother she truly is.

“I'm not leaving you!” Blake argues.

“You have to!” Kali states.

Kali has no idea of the monster that is walking towards her from the burning buildings. A monster that is unlike anything they have ever seen.

A tall...knight.

Fire burns from its charred, magma filled skin as it approaches Kali, snarling with a demonic voice. Rage flows through this thing as it approaches her. “Kali look out!” Sun yells when he sees it come up behind her. Kali turns and the burning hand extinguishes to pumice, grabbing her by the throat and lifting her off the floor.

She chokes in pain, struggling to break free. “Mom!” Blake screams, her eyes wide. Sun backs up and throws himself at the locked door, over and over to break it down.

“Come on! You broke down twice before!” Sun shouts in annoyance.

Kali screams and slashes her dagger across the wrist of the burning demon. The monster bellows in pain, staggering away and she falls from the place she was held. The pumice crashes to the floor, shattering and crumbling into dust. The agonised bellow that monster creating is truly horrifying, echoing for miles as it staggers back. The creature stands there as Kali holds her neck in pain, bruises around it where it held her. The charred skin glows red underneath, fire and cinders form from the stump which reconstructs the hand of this thing, the massive hand clenches into a fist and the monster bellows in rage, throwing its arms back.

Blake and Sun repeatedly try to break the doors down but they are all locked. Kali gasps for air and she gets back up, picking up her dagger and she attacks the creature as it charges towards her. Every step it takes chars the soil beneath it, leaving fire from every step, burning the grass to ash.

The being now wields a pair of burning axes in both hands, like a berserker, it swings them both at her, fire trailing behind the blade, smoke rising from its burning body. The eyes of the monster glow bright orange with fire literally leaking from the sockets, molten teeth inside the jaws and the body is cracked, inside the fissures is just red hot molten rock inside. The jaws are shaped like the grill of a knight which have been molten down into jagged triangular teeth.

This is no ordinary Grimm...

This is something far more horrifying.

Kali yells, sliding under the attack of the beast and she slashes her blade across the stomach of the beast. But it has no effect, just embers spurt out and it regenerates the wound. She turns, seeing Beowulves that have been attracted to the panic attacking people, slaughtering them and savagely killing them. Their teeth and claws plunging into the flesh of the Faunus whom sought shelter here, blood drenching the soil they made a home upon. Her eyes widen in horror as she watches her home falling.

Distracted, the beast punches her in the side of the head with a flaming fist, the impact knocks her on the floor and she gasps in pain, fire burning the side of her face. She throws dirt against it which extinguishes the fire. She cries out in pain but she does not let that stop her from fighting. Her ear rings loudly from how hard that thing struck her head, and the side of her face has burns that still torment her even now.

Ghira turns, seeing her fighting this Hellspawn. Kali stabs into the chest of the monster, and still has no effect, it just melts the blade of her knife. The creature grabs her by the wrist, burning her hand. She screams in agony as the monster lifts her off the ground and swings her around. The monster launches her into a tree and she yelps in agony, hitting the floor in pain. She coughs, blood leaking from her mouth. She sits up, looking at the monster, as it has destroyed her Aura and has left her completely defenceless. She must have also cracked a few ribs and bruised a lung from how hard that thing threw her into that thick tree.

The creature stomps towards her, its hands shaking with rage and growling demonically. Ghira sprints at the monster, smashing a mace into its back. The creature hardly even flinches and turns to him. “Kali!” Ghira yells as the creature grabs him by the wrist, burning his arm. “Run!” He roars through the pain as his skin and flesh burns away. The creature pushes its arm straight down, burning right through his wrist, incinerating his hand off.

He bellows in pain, fire burning on the stump, his hand hitting the floor. Blake continues to try and get the door open to help him. The creature holds its burning axe tight and walks towards Ghira. It pushes him onto his back and stares into his eyes with its burning ones. The creature approaches him and Kali crawls over to him, but the creature lifts the axe up and smashes the blade right into Ghira's stomach, piercing the aura and plunging through. Ghira's eyes widen in agony and he gasps in pain.

“No!” Kali screams with anguish, reaching out for her beloved husband. Blake and Sun stand there with disbelief as they see that happen from behind the door, unable to help stop this monster.

“Dad!” Blake wails in horror, seeing the beast ripping the burning blade from his gut and kicking him across the floor. Kali watches in disbelief, lost for words and unable to speak from being thrown into a tree like that.

“Ghira...” Kali whimpers, tears gushing from her eyes. Her eyes turn when she hears the terrifying demonic roar of the monster that had just taken her husband from her. The monster stares at her, holding both axes out and roaring at her. The fire burns extremely bright and large when it roars, walking towards her. She stares at it, anger overcoming her as it approaches. She stares into the eyes of the devil itself, as it extinguishes the hand into pumice, holding her by the cheek.

She looks at it and she gasps.

Blake's eyes widen in remorse as she sees her mother's body flash, turning gold and her body crumbles away into orange cinders that float away from the pumice fingers of the demon that had just taken her. The monster ignite its hand again when Kali has been completely disintegrated. The being takes a step back, and then walks away, hunting down others to kill.

Blake falls to her knees, tears falling from her eyes and she begins to wail piercingly in sorrow. Sun yells in rage, smashing the doors open and running outside. He turns when a Beowulf leaps at him. He smashes its head into the ground with Ruyi Jingu Bang, killing from the impact. Blake is sat there, unable to move from what just happened. “Blake...” She faintly hears the deep voice of Ghira whisper. She looks up, her cat ears listening. She springs up and sprints to her father's side.

There's so much blood...

She presses her hands against the wound in his belly.

“Hold on dad...” She sniffles, barely able to speak from the tears that gush from her eyes. Ghira lifts his hand to her cheek, wiping the tear from her eye with a smile, he holds her cheek and she holds his hand.

“It's okay...you can do this...” He says to her. Sun stands beside Blake, he knows what this feels like. “You're a Huntress.” He says, looking into her eyes.

“Dad...please...just hold on.” She sniffles.

She feels his hand pulling away and his eyes slowly close, the breath leaving his mouth. His hand drops to the floor. Blake wails out in anguish, on her knees, heartbroken. Sun stands by her side. He looks at the body of the now deceased Ghira Belladonna. Sun looks around, seeing people dying by the hands of the Grimm, it was so sudden. They came out of nowhere and smashed through the defences.

Warriors and mercenaries don't stand a chance.

He looks at them and their eyes glow a brighter red than they normally do, more enraged than usual. Sun then turns to Blake...and he knows that she will hate him for this...but they need to go.

“Blake...” He says gently, reaching over to her. She hugs her father's body, sobbing into his chest. “We need to go.” Sun says to her.

“I'm not leaving him!” She tearfully protests.

Sun grabs her arm, pulling her away from her father. “Blake! I'm sorry, but we can't stay here!” Sun shouts. Blake starts hitting him in his bare chest as she is pulled away from her father.

“No! No!” Blake cries out. He turns her around and hugs her, letting her hit him because he can take it.

“I'm sorry...” He holds her by her shoulders. “We have to go.” Sun says to her. She wipes the tears from her eyes, looking at the body of Ghira. She just starts running and he stands there, looking down at the scorched footprint on the ground that belongs to whatever that monster was. Sun takes one last look at Ghira and he runs after Blake, keeping up with her. They sprint through Menagerie that is now on fire, this attack was so sudden, so unexpected...it makes no sense...

Blake and Sun run towards the docks where they can still see the boat there, waiting to take people away. Sun and Blake run and they jump aboard after running across the wooden dock. Sun rolls onto it and Blake falls over, sorrow crippling her. Sun turns to the captain, the one with grey hair and a grey beard. The same one that brought them here. “Get us out of here!” Sun yells.

“There must be others!” The captain argues.

“We're all that's left.” Sun says, just trying to get Blake to safety. But then Sun's attention turns when he hears the roars of fire engulfing the treeline. Blake and Sun both look at the fire and they see the Infernal Knight emerging from the flames. It stares at the boat and Grimm follow it.

The monster points its axe at them.

“Kill them all!” The monster bellows, a demonic voice as it speaks. Their eyes widen in horror when they see this new creature of Grimm speak real words.

_It can speak..._

The Grimm charge at the boat and the captain moves the boat away as the Grimm start charging towards it. The monster's eyes burn bright, fixated on Blake's. Blake grits her teeth in anger, charging towards the edge to go after it. But Sun reaches out, catching her with his arm.

“No! I need you.” Sun says to her, looking into her eyes. They both look at the monster as the boat moves away. The Grimm all howl at the boat as it leaves Menagerie. The flaming knight walks to the edge of the docks, burning the wood down from every step. It stares at the boat as it sails off to the horizon.

The threat snarls deeply, its voice crackling like fire.

This is a new threat.

One unlike anything that humanity has ever faced before...

A monster...

A creature of pure Fury...


	7. Mistakes

**Blake**

The waves are silent...

Almost ghostly silent, the captain of the ship looks out at the endless blue waiting to see the ships of the damned rising from the dark blue depths. But nothing, just the expanse of water and clouds directly ahead of them...

This boat was once much heavier with passengers, now there are only a couple dozen people inside, and two of them are Blake and Sun.

Sun is sat down beside Blake, outside in the warming up air, and Sun has wrapped the young Feline Faunus Woman up with a blanket that he found to keep her warm. She is sat there, and has not changed her position since she sat there. Hearing the roar that the monster made as it slammed its burning axe head straight into her father’s gut...and burned her mother to ashes right before her eyes. Sun’s hand is slowly twitching into a fist as he sits there, eye jittering with anger because of how he feels he failed her – failed to save her parents.

But if he didn’t pull her away, that thing would have killed her too.

Tears drench her fair skinned cheeks, filled with the sorrow of a heartbroken child. Sun however makes himself become cold to it, and since this has already happened to him once, he does not let it go to his head.

And he has to, for her sake.

If he can stay positive for her, then it is all worth it to him. Ruyi Jingu Bang and Gambol Shroud lean against one another. Blake sniffles, her feline ears folded down sadly, looking at the floor. Sun's tail curls up by her hand, trying to make her feel better.

Blake looks at him, her tears glistening in the sunlight. He smiles gently, warming her heart. “I’m here...okay?” He softly says to him with a smile. She buries her head into her shoulder and he holds her close, hugging her so then she has a shoulder to cry onto.

Sun squeezes his blue eyes shut...

And when he does he can hear that thing roaring in the back of his mind. So many questions rattle around in the back of his head...

_What the hell was that thing?_

_It spoke..._

_Something is coming and it cannot be good for any of us._

Then Blake speaks...with a tender and shattered voice, as she leans against his torso with her hand softly touching his chest as well. “The Grimm...It spoke...” She stammers with horror, seeing the burning face of whatever that demonic beast was that roared.

“I know...” Sun responds with a similarly shaken voice.

“W-What do we do now?” She asks him, sitting upright, wiping some tears from her eyes and her cheeks. Sun looks at her and he cannot help but raise an eyebrow.

“What do you mean?” He asks her with confusion.

“C-Crying can’t bring them back...what do we do now?” She asks him, she needs something to take her mind off what happened to Menagerie – and unfortunately it seems to be that the only option they have is open to them.

“That thing...it lead the Grimm there, Ilia knew it was coming and she tried to warn us. She was too late, but we can warn the Mistraalian Headmaster at Haven Academy.” Sun explains, remembering the school since he did come from Mistral – and Haven for that matter. Blake looks into his eyes and she sniffles, struggling to hold onto her courage in a moment like this.

“Neptune...Scarlet and Sage are there, aren’t they?” She asks him, and Sun softly chuckles.

“They better be.” He replies, looking out at the see as they sit there on the floor.

The boat continues to move across the sea...

And it is very empty right now.

 

**Oscar**

“What does this even mean?” Nora squeaks with a raised voice, clutching her hands together tight and standing on the tips of her toes, staring at Oscar who is wide eyed with concern, sat in a chair. Nora looks bewildered, Jaune looks suspicious, Ruby looks shy and Ren is...

Well...

Ren.

Perfectly showing the middle ground between excitement and fear on his face, staring at Oscar as well. “What do you mean – _paired_?” Jaune questions, his arms crossed and one hand is quite close to the hilt of Crocea Mors on his belt. Ruby’s silver eyes dart to his hand and they widen when they see the way that he glares at Oscar. The poor hazel eyed boy does not even seem to realise that Jaune is ready to cut his head off at a moment’s notice.

“I don’t really know.” Oscar softly admits with a shy voice, not looking at any of them, and Jaune grits his teeth with disdain, not towards the boy but the man that has bonded with him somehow.

But before he can take any action to get answers from him, he feels Ruby’s tiny hand grab his wrist; he turns and looks down at her as she stands beside him. “Um...Can I have a quick word with ya, pal?” Ruby inquires, pulling him aside and using the speed of her petals to get him away from Oscar. The young man’s eyes widen and he gasps with confusion, jolting and staring at the many crimson petals that float down onto his lap.

He lifts those eyes to Nora and Ren who stand there.

“She does that.” Nora informs.

Ruby pulls Jaune round the corner and he nearly collapses from how fast he is suddenly yanked over there, stumbling across the mahogany floor. He stares at her, after regaining his balance and the petals sit on his head and shoulders. “What the hell, Ruby?” He questions with a heavily hushed voice, staring at her.

“Me? What the hell is up with you, Jaune?” Ruby questions him, planting her hand on her hip and raising one of her eyebrows.

“Is that seriously a question?” Jaune states, crossing his arms as he looks right at her.

“Jaune, ever since that kid said he is _paired_ with Professor Ozpin you have been on edge. Now I know what happened back at Beacon was bad – what he did to Pyrrha and all of that, but don’t you think that we should at least hear him out?” Ruby asks him, Jaune stares directly at her large silver eyes, then looks at Crocea Mors which has her metal forged into the steel.

He lets out a sigh, relaxing his shoulders. “Fine...but that doesn’t mean that I trust him.” Jaune states.

“Neither do I, the man has the same blood on his hands that Cinder does for not telling us what was going on. But now we have an opportunity for him to tell us why.” Ruby explains, and he nods when he looks at her. Ruby turns the corner with Jaune and they both walk back over to Oscar, Ren and Nora.

“Also, please don’t pull me away like that again – I nearly threw up.” Jaune requests.

Ruby smirks deviously.

“No promises – Vomit Boy.” Ruby remarks.

“Oh Ha – Ha!”

As they approach them, they hear the words of Nora that would complete bewilder anybody who did not know her, and even for them it is ridiculous. “Do you think he aged backwards? Will he turn into a cute little baby?” Nora squeals, which makes Ren sigh.

“Gods I hope not.” Oscar groans with wide hazel coloured eyes. Ruby sets her eyes on the same aged boy, and there is a great curiosity about him. They both have rather unique eyes, and his hazel ones are almost enchanting.

“I have to admit...this is really weird...” Ruby says as she stands between Ren and Nora, looking at Oscar.

“I know...I’m still trying to understand it all myself.” Oscar sighs, sat on that chair still with his hands clutching the cane that Qrow threw into his hands. The many black markings across the metallic structure of the weapon and the faint hum that he can feel through his fingers. He looks at it, like it is so familiar yet so alien as well.

“Okay everyone – let’s give him a minute.” Qrow requests as he emerges, sobered up after his little drinking session he had, with a glass of water in his hand. The four of them step back, Ruby and Nora act all cute in how they act like they weren’t crowding him. Whereas Ren stands there with an honourable stance and a smile on his face that is welcoming. Jaune however keeps his blue eyes focused on the boy, he does not distrust Oscar, but it is the aura of the man trapped within him somehow.

Oscar can sense the tension in his bones, and the distrust in his eyes.

The Farmhand exhales with relief and turns to see Qrow walking in and he smiles. “Thanks.” He calmly says to him, and Qrow nods as he walks past him and takes a seat in the chair. Ruby and Nora both sit down beside one another in the second double sofa next to the single chair that Oscar is sat in, the young Silver Eyed Girl beside him. Her unique eyes gleefully bounce over to his hazel coloured ones, leading to a gentle smile and a short nervous giggle from her voice.

Oscar looks away shyly. “Sorry...I just never have had the opportunity to meet real Hunters before.” Oscar stammers, nervous to speak to people in general, let alone Huntsmen and Huntresses. But as always, Ruby has her gift in being able to make anybody feel comfortable around strangers, despite her being socially awkward herself.

“Well – we’ve never met someone who has two souls – weird goes around with this gang.” Ruby squeaks with a bounce in her pose as she looks at him with a bright smile on her face. Oscar smiles back and sighs with relief, like a massive weight has been lifted from his shoulders.

Qrow clears his throat to get their attention. “Hate to break up the whole – _getting to know you_ game – but we need to talk.” Qrow explains, and Oscar looks at Jaune, seeing him stood with his back leant to the wall and arms crossed, whereas Ren sits perched on the arm of the chair that Nora is sitting at with one arm behind her as he looks at the young man. Qrow turns his red eyes to Oscar. “Mind showing us that crazy thing you can do, kiddo?” Qrow asks him, and Oscar sighs.

“Yeah...okay...” He agrees, and he looks at them all. “Just so you all know – I am not speaking from my own memories.” Oscar advises, which makes them raise their brows with confusion. He closes his hazel coloured eyes and inhales air in through his nose. When he opens them, he looks at Ruby and speaks with certainty of what he seems to remember.

Ruby is stunned by what he says, especially since this is the first time that they have ever met him. “Ruby Rose, you came to Beacon Academy because you wanted to help people and follow in your late-mother’s footsteps.” Oscar says, and her eyes widen with confusion, and she cannot help but mutter in her thoughts of what he just said.

_I...I said that to Ozpin when I first met him..._

_I was so stupid back then._

His eyes then turn to Nora Valkyrie sat beside her with her leg crossed over the other, looking at him curiously. He also looks at Ren who stands next to her and they both are just as surprised by the things that Oscar seems to know about. “Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren – you both suffered the horrific losses of your parents from different times and events but found each other when the town of Kuroyuri fell. And have stuck together like glue ever since.” Oscar says, speaking without any nervousness or stammering like he normally does, and the statements cause the couple to look at each other nervously.

Then finally he turns to Jaune who still looks very suspicious of Oscar. “Jaune Arc, Crocea Mors is a sword passed down to you by your family and you faked your manuscripts to gain a place in Beacon Academy to become a warrior, despite the fact you never passed any real tests in your previous school.” Oscar states, and his eyes widen when he reveals that – he has told them all about this information but he is even more surprised that he knows that.

“How do you know that? I never even told Ozpin that...”  Jaune speaks, uncrossing his arms as he stares at the young man, Ruby looks at him and then at Oscar, desperate for answers.

“No, you didn’t – but he was no fool, he knew from the get-go that you lied, but he let you in anyway.” Oscar says to him.

“What? Why?” Jaune questions with misunderstanding in his voice.

“Because he saw determination in you, something that can transform even the weakest of people in something greater. You being here is mere proof of his reasoning for letting you into the school in the first place.” Oscar explains, and just by speaking through using Ozpin’s memories that the Professor has opened up for him to use, he seems more like Ozpin in the way he acts and speaks.

“How did you know all of that?” Ren asks him.

“Ozpin has allowed me to access his memories, so I was able to learn about some things that relate to the four of you – so then you would believe me when I say that I am... _paired_ with Professor Ozpin.” Oscar explains to them all, and Ruby softly laughs at something she has noticed in the way he speaks.

“Wow...you even sound like him at times.” Ruby points out.

“Really? I guess some of it has rubbed off on me.” He nervously says, sounding more like Oscar again.

“So – Ozpin can’t speak through you?” Jaune asks him.

“No, wherever he is he must be in some sort of suspended animation, separating his soul so then he can assist us without revealing his location to Salem.” Qrow explains.

“Indeed.” Oscar agrees. “I pick up on the way he acts and speaks whenever he opens information to me or speaks to me, but I am merely the translator of his words.” Oscar explains, and then he shudders when he says that. “Translator?” He mutters, since he rarely uses big words like that in average conversation.

But this is no ordinary conversation.

Oscar picks up Ozpin’s cane and he rests it between his legs, looking at the four of them, and then he starts to sound like the other half again. “I suppose that this is _very_ perplexing for you all.” He states with the voice of Ozpin, they are unaware that inside his head Ozpin is saying the same thing just then.

“And alarming! And Bizarre! And just really hard to believe overall!” Nora exclaims with her hands stretched out and carrying a perplexed look on her face as Oscar and Ozpin presumed. Oscar chuckles, quite similarly to the way that Ozpin would when they manage to amuse him with their young and adorable attitudes.

“Well at least I’m not surrounded by super serious people, but from what happened at Beacon it wouldn’t surprise me if you were a little colder. I know you’ve all suffered greatly already...” Oscar states, setting his eyes on Jaune who glares at him, and he speaks with such sincerity that Oscar can hear Ozpin saying the same words that escape his mouth at the same time. “I’m sorry.” He softly says.

Jaune blue eyes narrow and he softly snarls when gritting his teeth slightly through parted lips. “But...it wasn’t your fault what happened, none of us could have known what would have happened...” Ruby gently says to him, placing one hundred percent of the blame upon Cinder.

Then Jaune chimes in. “Isn’t he?” He questions, which makes the three of them sharply turn their heads and stare at Jaune, Ruby looking the angriest towards him.

“Jaune!” She exclaims with disgust.

“What?” Jaune questions with the firm shrug of his shoulders.

“I know your bitter but that is not true.” Ruby sternly states, and Jaune scoffs, looking away from Ruby’s gaze, but Oscar’s words catch all of them off guard.

“He is not wrong, Ruby.” Oscar reveals, and Jaune turns his head with a startled gasp, staring at him. Ruby slowly turns her head with disbelief, looking right at his astonishing hazel coloured eyes.

“W-What do you mean?” Ruby inquires.

“Well...I am speaking from his memories right now...but do you remember what Ozpin told you when you were upset with Weiss Schnee?” Oscar asks her, and she looks down at the floor.

_Weiss..._

_Haven’t heard that name in a long time..._

_I wonder how she is doing..._

Little does she know that she is in the same city as her, as is her sister and multiple other friends that she has missed. But when she thinks on the question that Oscar asked her, she remembers back to that day, when wise was angry at her for helping – she claimed that Ruby being leader was a mistake made by Ozpin. It hurt her deeply, she only wanted to be her friend, and only after that day did they start to grow closer to each other.

Then she repeats what Ozpin said to her when he found her in the hallway, after hearing the argument between the two of them. “He said he made more mistakes than any man, woman or child on this planet.” Ruby recites, and Oscar nods his head, remembering when he said that from Ozpin’s very own memories.

“Yes...and from some of the memories that I can feel...I don’t think he was exaggerating.” Oscar says to them all.

“What do you mean?” Ren asks.

“I am not overly sure, I do not know all his secrets or his memories, but I do know that he does blame himself and his actions for what happened at Beacon Academy...and what happened to somebody called Pyrrha Nikos.” He says, and they all look at Jaune – even Qrow does when they hear that name. Oscar looks at Jaune when he notices that he is staring right at him.

“Why is he looking at me like that?” Oscar asks in his head to Ozpin to hear him sigh.

“Pyrrha Nikos, the girl you can see in your memory? The two of them were very close, she was in love with him and he began to fall for her – she was who I chose to become the next Fall Maiden...and died because of it.” Ozpin explains to him with a sigh, and Oscar closes his eyes sadly when he says that. He did not even realise that he said her name, it was almost out of instinct to say that name, but then Jaune speaking gets his attention.

And he asks the question that he was almost expecting.

“Why? Why did you do that to her?” Jaune questions with a stern voice.

“Kid, I told you what happened.” Qrow says to him, pointing to try and calm him down.

“You did – I wanna hear it from Ozpin, or Oscar...or whatever the hell is happening here.” Jaune states, sounding exceedingly confused in the situation. Qrow looks at Oscar and the young Farmhand agrees, nodding his head.

“I can remember his reasons for why he chose Pyrrha Nikos – he said that she was kind, thoughtful and caring, but ready to become a Fall Maiden. She was the perfect age and the perfect candidate to become one...it was just...it all happened at the wrong time...he wanted to ask her after she graduated, but the chance never arrived.” Oscar explains, and Jaune narrows his eyes with anger.

“Did you know?” Jaune asks him.

“Know what?” Oscar asks him in return.

“That your little _proposal_ nearly destroyed everything that she ever believed in?” Jaune asks him, but clearly actually asking Ozpin and not him. Oscar looks to the sight and subconsciously speaks to Ozpin.

“What’s he talking about?” Oscar subconsciously inquires.

“After we informed Pyrrha Nikos on this information – I must admit we did kind of force the situation on her...we gave her an ultimatum and it was one that she could not refuse. She believed a great deal in destiny, and I found myself using that faith against her to gain her hand.” Ozpin explains to him, and Oscar looks surprised and shocked when he says that.

“How could you do that?” Oscar questions sternfully, taking Jaune’s side in the situation.

“We were facing a time of crisis, if things were different and Amber were not attacked...perhaps she would still be here today...she is not the first person to die because of my decisions and I know she will not be the last.” Ozpin states, almost quite coldly, how he can just say something like that so calmly...it is very intimidating.

Oscar snaps out of it, realising Jaune is still left there waiting on an answer. “He did know...he knew the risks of what would happen when asking her, but the situation was falling apart, he was left no other choice.” Oscar defends, perhaps even lying to protect either Ozpin or himself. Jaune scoffs, shaking his head and not buying what the young boy had just told him.

“Everyone has a choice...he could have chosen someone else.” Jaune states with anger, staring straight at him.

“Jaune – enough. It’s as I told you – Pyrrha made a choice and she chose.” Qrow tells him, and Jaune scoffs.

“A choice? What kind of choice was that? Either become the Fall Maiden or everyone you know will die? Only for all of it to be for nothing and she dies anyway? That isn’t a choice, he tricked her into believing there was a second choice. You all did.” Jaune snarls as he stares at Qrow, and the Huntsman narrows his eyes.

“You have no idea of what the implications were, kid – I have been out there and I have seen the things that she has created. You have seen one of them yourself, that damned Nuckelavee as the Mistraalians call it was only one of them. She has created more and more monsters and they will destroy everything we have ever known.” Qrow explains, standing up as he walks towards Jaune. “So you tell me, Jaune – what’s worse? Making one girl become a Fall Maiden or sacrificing hundreds of thousands to Salem and her monsters?” Qrow challenges, towering above him with gritted teeth and anger, but Jaune stands his ground with similarly gritted teeth.

“Uncle Qrow! Jaune! Stop it! We need to figure things out!” Ruby defuses, standing up and pushing them away from each other. Jaune stands there with so much rage in his bones, before he grunts, turning and storming off, pushing the door open and leaving the room, walking outside.

“Jaune...” Nora softly says, standing up with Ren as they follow after him.

Ruby stands there, with her Uncle and Oscar, with Ozpin trapped in the back of his mind. Qrow sighs, reaching into his coat and pulling his flask out, unscrewing the cap to take a swig before taking his seat again. Ruby looks at them and she looks so small and nervous. “That did not go very well...” Oscar states, sounding a lot like Ozpin in his tones and even his mannerisms.

“The kid’s got a lot of pain in him...I guess I did go a little far by challenging him...but he needs to see the bigger picture here.” Qrow explains, setting his flask down on the table. Which brings the question to Ruby’s mind, the one she has wanted answered ever since Tyrian and Qrow brought her up when on the road to Mistral.

“Ozpin...well...Oscar...” Ruby softly begins.

“Yes?” He responds.

“Salem...what is she?” She asks him, and Qrow looks at her before looking at Oscar.

“Who?” Oscar asks Ozpin subconsciously.

“One moment.” He says, as he feeds information into his head, memories of the demonic monster that is leading the Grimm. The fear can be seen on Oscar’s face when the memories flow into his own mind.

Then he seems to snap back into his Ozpin crossed with Oscar personality as he speaks through his memories. “Salem...she is something unique, not Grimm and not Human, but something in-between, something extremely powerful and ancient, and intelligent. She cannot be reasoned with, and she is the master of all Grimm, and only wants all of life to kneel before her feet.” Oscar explains to her, and the description truly gives Ruby the chills.

“Have you seen her, Uncle Qrow?” Ruby inquires.

“Once, nearly was killed because of it. She is real smart, pipsqueak.” He promises.

“Then...how do we stop her?” Ruby asks him.

“We start...by ensuring the safety of the Relics of Remnant.” Oscar tells her.

 

**Jaune**

Fists clenched, and body ready to explode with anger...

He storms across the silent street of the Mistraalian town, the fractured moon hangs high in the sky, watching him like an eye. He screams with rage and he swings his fist into a tree with all his might with anger. The crows all scatter into the sky from the tree where he punched it, and he did not feel a thing. The crows all fly high above his head with crystal beaks and red eyes, leaving the scene.

He still has his fist pressed against the tree with tears streaming down from his eyes, but not from pain, but from heartbreak. He was hoping he could be given some closure or some satisfaction for what happened to Pyrrha if speaking to Ozpin would help him understand – but it has just made it all the worse for him. Now he knows that she was in agony about the very thing he said that she should do, to run head first into the jaws of death and not look back.

Behind him, Nora and Ren approach him, the last members of his team that are alive, and they both slowly walk over to him. “Jaune?” Nora softly whispers and she reaches out to him, but he lashes out, swinging out and yelling with agony in his voice.

“Don’t touch me!” Jaune screams with rage.

Nora recoils back from just narrowly missing his arm, Ren stands there and sees the tears in his eyes and any sort of protective nature is soothed...because he understands this pain. He felt it when he saw the Nuckelavee again, like watching his parents being killed by it all over again, he is just imagining what must have happened to Pyrrha again and again.

_I..._

_I saw her die, Jaune..._

_Cinder shot her and she...burned her...right in front of me..._

_I’m so sorry Jaune...I’m so sorry..._

Ruby’s tearful words echo in his memory when he visited her and Yang one time during the autumn, because he needed to know what happened. He will never forget those words, because they are the only thing he has to know what happened to that perfect girl, that beautiful ball of light in his life...

The ball of light he shunned for so long.

“Jaune...” Ren softly says to him to calm him, then he squeezes his eyes shut and the tears push through, the weight of sorrow pushes him to his knees, and he lets it all out. Crying into his palms on the spot on the gravel pathway, Nora and Ren both stand there, before they crouch down beside him and touchingly surround him. Nora rests her head on his shoulder gently whilst Ren crouches down and places his hand on his shoulder.

“It’s okay, Jaune...” Nora promises with kindness in her bright cyan eyes.

“No...” Jaune sniffles.

“No?” Nora asks him.

“I should have been there for her...she was always there for me...and I failed her!” Jaune cries out with anguish, wishing it were him that was killed by Cinder and not Pyrrha. Nora looks at Ren and she is trying her damndest to hold back her own tears – seeing Jaune like this is painful, he has always been able to keep headstrong and inspire them.

Now he is the one that needs the help opposed to them.

But Ren always knows how to help people, just as Jaune always does as well. “You didn’t fail her Jaune, Pyrrha was always going to fight a battle she knew she couldn’t win.” Ren states, and he looks at him with confusion.

“What do you mean?” Jaune questions.

“She was always building her skills, always throwing herself in front of the enemies of other people. She was always ready to give her life for the cause, and if she could do that and save you and the rest of the world at the same time? I think she would be honoured to be given such an opportunity.” He states, and he carries a kind smile on his face as he says that to him. Jaune thinks on his words, and there are some areas of truth to them because he is not wrong.

Pyrrha was always one to face death and punch him right in the face, and battle off every disciple that he brought with him. She was sick of being known as the invincible girl, she always wanted people to see her as something more than that.

Someone that they could believe in, but not see as a tool.

Jaune sniffles as he sits there, leaning his back against the wall. “Be proud of her Jaune, her memory – because thanks to you she actually had some happiness in her life.” Ren says to him with a smile.

“Yeah, did you see her face when you danced with her at the party?” Nora asks him, and he looks at her with tears running down his cheeks.

“What do you mean?” he asks her.

“I think she was smiling the whole time. I would bet a lot of lien on the idea that it was probably the best night of her life.” She states with a smile on her face.

Jaune brushes his wrist across his face to wipe the tears away from his bloodshot and tear soaked eyes. “I-I just wish she could be here with us.” He sniffles.

“Me too...I bet she could show us the best restaurants in town.” Nora giggles to lighten the mood, and Jaune chuckles.

“Yeah, just don’t mention Pumpkin Pete’s around her, unless you want an hour long explanation of how bad they are for you.” Ren remembers.

“Oh gods...” Nora groans, making Jaune chuckle.

“I’m surprised she even ate the Cotton Candy I got her – that was when I knew something was up.” Jaune states with a chuckle.

“That’s a good point.” Nora giggles.

“She never ate many pancakes of mine either.” Ren remembers.

“That was all Nora.” Jaune defends.

“Hey!” Nora squeaks.

“What? You devour his pancakes faster than anything I have ever seen.” Jaune tells her, and Nora ponders on that.

“Yeah I do...” She smirks as she winks at Ren.

“What does that mean?” Ren asks.

“Yeah...what does that mean?” Jaune also asks nervously.

“You’ll see Pancake Boy.” She flirtatiously says as she stands up, and they both stand up and watch her prance back to the house.

“I’m scared.” Ren states with terrified and shrunken irises.

“Me too...”

 

**Yang**

The young Blonde Woman stares at the photograph of Team R.W.B.Y together as she sits on the spare bed that Kassius has offered her, despite the fact that it is a double bed. She has not actually checked the house and made sure that he is not lying to her. But her lilac eyes are focused on the picture in her cybernetic hand, Ruby’s happiness, Weiss’ happiness, even Blake’s...and then how she used to be. Yang closes her eyes and she sighs, she does not know how she feels about Blake.

She is angry for her leaving her alone after she lost her arm, but she also does not blame her for anything. All she wants is to talk to her, to understand why it all happened in the first place.

Yang sighs, folding the picture and putting it back in her pocket when she hears Kassius moving something next door. She peers round and notices that he has a pillow that he throws onto the couch. Her eyes widen and she stands up, looking at the bed and realising what he is doing. “Kassius?” Yang calls him.

“Hey, Firefly.” He responds.

_Firefly..._

_That has always been his nickname for me, unlike Firecracker...he has always named me after a cute little twinkling fly._

Firefly has always been Kassius' nickname for Yang, she has been called Blondie and Firecracker, but there was something about Kassius' one that was different. One that didn't link to her hair colour or for her explosive temper, this was calm and gentle, the side to her that many people rarely see behind that tough and confident exterior.

Around him, she is quiet and shy, not from fear, but because she feels like she can be honest with him.

Then it hits her...

He has given her his bed...

“No, no...Kassius you don’t have to do that...” Yang stammers, not wanting him to give up his bed for her, but his answer is fast and swift.

“Not my bed.” Kassius tells her, and she stops in her tracks.

“Huh?” She asks.

“This was the house my Team and I lived in.” Kassius informs, and the past tense breaks her heart. But she does not ask him, she can tell that his team are gone now, probably died during the defence of the City...so she just asks him a different question.

“Then...why are you sleeping there?” She asks him.

“I can’t sleep in there...prefer the couch.” Kassius replies, laying down on the sofa and putting his arm behind his head on the pillow, not closing his eyes yet, just staring at the fireplace.

Yang walks over to him and she sits down on the carpet in front of him, looking at him. He looks at her and then at the room with confusion. “Oh don’t tell me you like the floor.” Kassius scoffs.

“No, it’s just...wanna talk is all...you know me, can’t stay still for five seconds.” Yang says, and he chuckles.

“What you mean like our sleepovers we used to have all the time?” He asks her, making her giggle at the memories.

“Oh no...” She sighs.

“You would talk and talk until midnight, sometimes even till three in the morning.” He chuckles.

“You never tried to go to sleep though.” Yang adds with a smile.

“Eh, true.” He agrees with a shrug, then she sighs.

“My sister is here...Weiss too...” Yang says with a soft voice, and he turns his head to look at her.

“Excited?” He asks her.

“Kind of...” She replies.

“Kinda?” He questions.

“I’m worried of how she’s gonna take it...I was a coward.” She says to him. She clenches her hand into a fist and snarls at herself with anger, but Kassius laughs at her when she says that, catching her off guard.

“Coward? Ha, don't make me laugh.” He chuckles, standing up and walking to the edge of the desk that is at the end of the table.

“But I was, Kassius. Ruby was out here, fighting the Grimm. She took on the Nuckelavee, whilst I was sulking back home." She explains to him, Kassius listens to every word. She fiddles with her long blonde hair as she tells him that.

“Yang...” He says affectionately. “That's not like you.” Kassius says, pointing his metal finger at her. He walks over to her and he crouches down in front of her. “Just because you fall over, it doesn't instantly mean that you can get back up. Sometimes it takes a lot of time...” He says, and he pauses for a couple of seconds, and Yang looks him into those large blue eyes when he pauses.

His eyes close and he exhales, standing tall again. “Trust me, I know what that can do to people.” Kassius promises. Yang stands up slowly, looking at the man she once loved, and likely still feels those exact same emotions right now towards him. She walks over to him, noticing that there is something wrong.

“Kas...” She gently says, her metal hand holding onto his. He looks at her when she catches his hand. They hold that admiration of each other's looks for a couple of seconds before Kassius slowly pulls his metal hand away from her. She looks at his hand and then at him. “What's wrong?” She asks him.

“I can't exactly question you for your decisions...not after the things that I have done.” He says.

Yang gets closer to him, looking him in the eyes. “What is it?” She asks again.

He shakes his head in anger. “My team...we made up Team Cordovan. Spelt K.R.D.V, I was the leader. Then it was Rajah, good guy, he was from Vacuo. Believe it or not but he didn't really like to wear the uniform.” Kassius points out as he explains who his team are. Yang laughs a little at that, thinking of Sun and probably just to make him feel comfortable. “Then there's Draven who was very efficient in combat, born in Mistral like Pyrrha Nikos was. Raised by a Mistraalian Knight.” He explains.

He pauses for a second, closing his eyes. “Then there was Vetra.” Kassius explains, stopping at her, looking at the room that Yang is borrowing. He shakes his head, pacing back and forth. “I didn't I was ever gonna see you again and we broke up when we left.” Kassius says, turning to her. He is afraid that she would be mad, but Yang could never be angry at him, because she still, and possibly will always, be in love with him. She just smiles and understands.

“It's alright, we ended it when we had to part ways, I understand.” She says to him. He smiles and he sighs, leaning against the wall.

“A bunch of people all from different places who all have suffered and then this one guy from Patch shows up and he becomes their leader. We ran multiple missions against the Bandits in the area, destroying their operations, helping out the little guy. They were hopeless before, and  _I_ gave them hope!” He says, holding his hands out, but not in a bragging manner, more in a way that sound like he is annoyed by it.

His arms drop down to his sides again, returning to this odd forlorn personality that is overcoming him. He doesn't look at Yang, like he feels ashamed. “And now they're dead...shows what I know.” He says to her.

Yang's eyes widen when he says that. “You mean...Vetra?” Yang asks.

“All of them...killed by one person.” Kassius answers to her. Yang covers her mouth for him, feeling so many sad emotions. The venom in his voice when he speaks about this one person almost scares her a little.

“What happened?” She asks him.

“It was my own damn fault. One of my friends betrayed me.” He says in anger to himself, walking around the room again. “A Faunus named Ilia, she sold us out to the Assassin who found us and she vanished without a trace.” Kassius snarls in anger.

Yang might not know it yet...

But this is the same Ilia that Blake was a close friend to – Ilia Amitola...seems she has more secrets than most people seem to realise.

“Wait? What do you mean?” She asks him, attempting to understand what happened exactly.

“Ilia asked me to meet her in the forest outside Mistral. I got to the meeting point and she wasn't there. When I got back, the Assassin was in the middle of slaughtering my team. I tried to help but...” He says.

That's when he lifts his metal arm up, looking at it, moving each individual finger and then clenching it into a fist. “The Assassin threw a grenade at me and the explosion gave me this. Blew my arm apart, nearly killed me in the process.” He illustrates, lifting his metal hand up above his head slightly. Yang gasps, shocked from how...the pain he must have felt. At least Yang only lost her forearm, not her entire arm from the shoulder down. “I had to watch as I bled out as the Assassin killed the rest of my team...stabbing Vetra through the heart right in front of me. The Mistraalian Knights found me a few minutes later, it was too late to save my team, but they saved me.” Kassius explains.

He closes his eyes with distress and tenses his arms as he stands there by the table. “Like it was some sort of sick joke to give me this damn arm, like a constant reminder.” He says, staring at it. Yang's compassionate personality is strong towards him, wanting to help in any way she can.

“Are you sure it was Ilia? She didn't get killed by the Assassin too?” Yang asks him.

He shakes his head dismissively, and with certainty too. “She wasn't killed, I asked a contact to trace her and she got transport out of there. She sold me out and ran, I lost her trail when I got to the docks.” Kassius explains to Yang.

Yang walks up to him. “Do you need my help with anything? I will always help you, Kassius.” Yang says to him, reaching out to his cheek. He closes his eyes and he pulls his body away from her and she looks at him, nearly heartbroken from how he steps away.

The thing with Kassius, is that when something in his life goes wrong, he is terrified of seeing it happen a second time. It seems like those same emotions are coming to play here with Vetra and Yang right now.

“Not yet, I'll keep searching for something on her. One day I will find Ilia and I will make her pay for what she took from me, then I will find the Assassin and correct what happened that night. But until then, you are my priority, I just want you to find Ruby and be happy.” Kassius says, his mind still set on getting vengeance and yet he still wants her to be happy as well..

He shakes his head, getting the thoughts out of his head. “Well...I guess you know now.” He says to her. “So if you ever need to talk about  _this_.” He says, gesturing to his own metal arm. “I'll always be there.” He says with a smile. He walks past her and leaves the room. Yang stands there, watching him leave. She stands there and she wipes a tear from her cheek for him

But before he leaves...

There is one question left on her mind.

She turns to him before he leaves the room.

“Is that room Vetra’s?” She asks him, curiously yet also nervously. He stops in the doorway, then slowly looks round his shoulder at her.

“Yeah...” He answers, continuing on and leaving the building to get some air.

She stands there, tears in her eyes for him.

“I’m sorry, Kas...”

 

**Ruby**

The doors burst open as Nora emerges with a gleeful smile on her face, standing on one toe like a ballerina. “We’re back!” She gleefully coos in a singsong voice, as Jaune and Ren both walk back inside, and Qrow cannot help but notice the rather concerned looks on both their faces as they look at Nora.

“Something wrong?” Qrow asks them.

“Nope.” They both swiftly answer fearfully of Nora, since she has earned that fear of being completely unpredictable. She did manage to give Jaune an atomic wedgy so powerful that it nearly broke his aura in one blow, and he has a lot of aura in him. Qrow chuckles, since he can see fear of a woman a mile off, he has seen it on Taiyang’s face constantly when he was at school with him.

Qrow chuckles. “I won’t ask.” He says as he leans back.

“So, what did we miss?” Nora asks as she prances into the room, standing behind Ruby with a smile, making Jaune and Ren chuckle at her infinite glee – despite everything.

“Well...we have a plan of what to do next, we need to find the relics and secure them. And Ozpin has an idea of what to do.” Ruby simplifies for her, looking back at her. Nora gasps, jumping on the spot and landing next to the chair where Oscar sits.

“This is perfect!” She squeals with happiness, and the fear is now in Oscar’s face as well. “First we were at a dead end – now we can take little cute boy Ozpin to Lionheart and set things straight!” She squeals with happiness, and Oscar shudders with a groan.

“Please don’t call me that.” Oscar groans.

Subconsciously he speaks to Ozpin. “Is she always like this?” Oscar inquires.

“Oh...she is calm right now.” Ozpin informs, and his eyes widen.

“Calm?” He whimpers fearfully in his head.

Qrow looks at her and he manages to calm the ever growing ball of explosive excitement down a peg. “Yeah...we don’t think that’s the best idea so far.” Qrow states, and Nora groans, her arms slump down and she walks between Jaune and Ruby on the chair and she slouches down between them, crossing her arms with an annoyed expression on her face. Ren sits on the arm of the chair and looks at Oscar.

“But...I thought all the Headmasters follow your orders?” Ren presumes.

“Well, they follow _his_ word, not mine. And there is no certainty that they will believe me, even if I have the cane. It could easily be a simple knock-off in Lionheart’s eyes.” Oscar explains, remembering certain things about him very well.

“You have access to his memories.” Ruby suggests.

“Sure, but that isn’t what the issue is.” Qrow tells her as he looks at the four young Huntsmen and Huntresses.

“How so?” Jaune inquires.

“Remember our first conversation with him? He was denying everything we told him with his own information – but Ozpin told him that if we had important information he would do something. But he hasn’t, and that is quite worrying.” Qrow explains, standing up as he walks over to the window, looking at the Headmaster’s building in Haven.

“Exactly, he is not just behaving irrationally – Ozpin is used to that from him. But Ozpin is saying that he is disobeying direct orders given by him in case he had to go into hiding.” Oscar explains to them all.

“Something’s not right, I don’t want to jump to conclusions but I also don’t want to rule anything out either. Nobody outside this room knows that Oscar and Ozpin are sharing a body right now, and at the moment it would be best to keep things like that.” Qrow suggests.

“Keep all cards in our deck, huh?” Jaune presumes.

“Precisely, Mr Arc...Uh...I mean Jaune.” Oscar stammers, a bit of Ozpin coming out when he says that.

“But remember, we do have that meeting with him in the morning. He did say that he was stressed out with everything that has happened here at Mistral, and he has also said he has got some Huntsmen who are interested in helping us out.” Qrow explains to them all.

“Team S.S.S.N? They are here in Mistral.” Nora remembers.

“Maybe...we’ll find out tomorrow. But until then, we keep Oscar and Ozpin a secret. He can come with us, but we cannot arouse any suspicion. Understood?” Qrow asks them all.

“Got it.” They all agree.


	8. The Meeting

**Weiss**

“Ruby...Yang...they’re both here...” Weiss gasps, she is still amazed by all this information that she has been given about the whereabouts of her team. Although with Blake’s current position unknown to her – and even further the world has no idea of what has happened to Menagerie – it is not a full reunion yet. But she has her hopes that Blake will find her way here to Mistral eventually.

Weiss is sat in a chair by the fireplace with her hands brandishing a mug with warm coffee in it, she has not been able to sleep at night due to reoccurring nightmares she has been having. Imagining the sound of the door being kicked in and seeing her father stood there...

_What would he think of Neptune?_

_He probably knows about him now after that attack from those – Acolytes of Lien – guys that jumped me in the Market._

_He’ll never let me choose who I want, it wouldn’t surprise me if he wanted to choose who I would marry, and so then he could gain more power from marrying me to the heir of a powerful family._

_I can’t live like that..._

_But can I risk Neptune?_

_Sure I like him, but does he feel that way about me even with all these guys coming after me?_

Suddenly the door opens and she gasps, her eyes burst from their sockets until she immediately calms down, when seeing Neptune stepping out of the shower with his shirt on his shoulder. She cannot help but set her awkward eyes on the physical prowess of the man before her, and he has a couple of small scars on his body as well. Probably from fighting the Grimm, they’ve all collected a few marks from fighting those beasts.

Especially when Beacon fell.

He pushes his hand through his sapphire blue hair as he stands there, then he looks at her and he cannot help but wink. Weiss yelps, looking away shyly from him, of which only makes him chuckle, attracting him towards her like a positive magnet to a negative one.

_Why do you have to fall for a dork like that?_

Neptune sits down and he puts his shirt on the armrest, he – like Sun – clearly is not uncomfortable with showing his chest off like that. But from the tan he has, it seems that not overly surprising from him. His orange goggles hang from one of the coat hangers alongside that black and blue coat that he now wears, opposed to the red one that he used to where. “How are you feeling, Snow Angel?” He asks her, calling her by that nickname again – that only seems to have a positive affect from Weiss whenever he says it.

Weiss closes her eyes as she breathes in through her small nose, holding the warm mug of coffee in her petite hands atop her lap, leg crossed over the other and not actually wearing any shoes. A strange thing, seeing her wearing such informal clothing, then again she is only wearing a dressing gown since she only got out of the shower around half an hour ago. Her white hair is still a little damp, sitting on her shoulders, then she exhales, opening her eyes as she looks at him. “I don’t know...I’m...worried.” Weiss admits with a soft voice, Neptune raises an eyebrow with confusion.

“About what?” Neptune asks her with confusion, she looks at him for a second before looking at her own reflection in the coffee. Then she shuffles on the spot in the chair, before lifting her head to speak to him.

“Have you ever – I dunno – wondered on the choices you made? In your life?” Weiss asks him, and he slightly lifts his head when she asks him that.

“Hmm...What do you mean? Do I tend to dwell on my mistakes or do I like to relive the good memories?” Neptune inquires, and what a good question that is.

“I guess dwelling...” Weiss answers with a softly spoken voice, one that could barely be heard over the crackling flames that devour the wooden logs in the fireplace. The warm that crawls across her skin and into the white fluffy gown that she wears around her athletically slim curvy body.

Weiss cannot help but notice there is something there in his eyes, but he does not speak of it. He scratches the back of his neck as he ponders on whatever it is that plagues his mind, before letting a heavy sigh leave his lungs. “Yeah...but I try not to.” Neptune admits, not revealing what exactly it is that he ponders over.

“Can I ask what things you dwell on?” She inquires, but he still does not seem very enthusiastic of talking about this thing.

“I – uh – I’d rather not talk about it, if that’s okay? It’s nothing to do with you, I trust you with my life...it’s just...a nasty can of worms I’d rather not reopen right now.” He says sadly, staring at a strange medallion that sits on a mantelpiece above the fireplace, one that shares the same symbol he wore when he went to Beacon. It is the symbol of a Trident, very similar to the one that he uses in combat sometimes when not in Rifle Form.

Weiss looks at it, and then looks away when Neptune clears his throat, louder than usual – obviously eager to change the subject. So Weiss decides to continue on to what she was going to talk about. “I have been thinking a lot, lately – the way I acted around Ruby, the way I viewed the Faunus...I never realised till I was dragged back to my father’s doorstep how terrible I was.” Weiss explains with a saddened voice, Neptune looks at her and he can see the anguish in her gentle blue eyes. “Ruby was only trying to be nice to me, to help me out whenever she could...and I kept spitting in her face instead.” Weiss stammers, fighting back the tears of anger at her own past mistakes.

“Hey...” Neptune gently whispers to her, reaching over to her hand and affectionately holding the back of the palm. She looks at his hand, following across his forearm to his bicep and shoulder then to his warming smile. The only face that has been able to melt the iceberg that is her soul is him, and her heart flutters with feelings of butterflies. She cannot help but smile back as she looks at him. “...don’t blame yourself, you were different then, sure...but you learned to break away from the way your father shaped you and became your own person.” Neptune tells her.

“But what if I haven’t?” She nervously asks him with a worried expression on her little face.

“Weiss – us having this conversation should be enough proof already that you are not the same person you were when you entered that academy.” Neptune states, very wisely as well. She thinks on those words, and she cannot argue with his logic there, though there are some things that are still on her mind.

But not to do with her past...

But somebody else in her past.

“I’m scared...Nep...” She softly stammers, and he still looks at her with concern, but he quickly figures out what she means by that.

_Talking about Ruby and Yang, about her past..._

_I think I know who she is talking about._

“Are you worried about your father?” Neptune inquires.

“My father, my brother...even General Ironwood. I overhead what he is going to do, he is going to close the Borders to Atlas and leave the rest of the world in the dark. And my father...” She whimpers, actually having to grab her forearm when she just thinks of his monstrous face and his intimidating voice.

“Guy sounds like a Class-A Asshole, shouldn’t have to worry about him too much.” Neptune states, but that is where Weiss retorts. But not in defence of her father, but merely stating fact.

“No, Neptune...you don’t know him like I do.” Weiss says, and that statement for some reason hurts him. From the fear she has of her own father and her reluctance of ever going back to him – he can only guess of what kind of man Jacques Schnee is, especially to his own daughter. Weiss sets her coffee down on the table next to her, and she crosses her arms against her belly, keeping the sleeves wrapped around her naturally cool body due to her poor circulation. “The man is a monster; he only cares about winning, at any means necessary. He married my mother so then he could gain full control over the Schnee Dust Company when my Grandfather passed away. He has contacts across all four Kingdoms, and he wants complete control over every member in his family.” Weiss explains, her hand shaking when she talks about it.

Then...

Neptune notices something...

Slight discolouring on her cheek, like that of a bruise of some kind. He gently moves some of her long icy white hair aside and she flinches when he does that, but he can see the faint handprint. “Did he do that to you?” Neptune asks her, she looks at him and then has a flash memory of when he smacked her in the face for bringing up the fact he is not truly a Schnee. But merely a man who married into the name so then he could take the company and reap the rewards benefitted from it.

Weiss just nods her head silently, and Neptune clenches his other hand into a fist with anger, he has always hated abusive fathers...but when learning that the girl he has feelings for has been struck by her own father...

It shows a side of him she has never seen.

Hatred.

But he lets that pass by, and he looks at her again. “He will do whatever it takes to drag me back to Atlas so then he can use me as another one of his pawns again, but I doubt it will be as pretty. He has always seen Winter and myself as tools and only Whitley as a successor...he would have married the two of us off to powerful families in Atlas and other Kingdoms like cattle all for his own gain.” Weiss explains, and she sighs, still holding his hand affectionately.

She looks into his eyes, with such concern for not only him but for everyone she holds dear. “I’m scared most of all though, of what he will do to get me back. He’s already sent Mercenaries after me, I don’t even know if he wants me alive or not anymore...I guess he wants some kind of campaign to start with my death or something. Blame it on the Faunus; maybe...he has always hated the Faunus. But if he finds out I’m with you, and who my friends are...you could all be at risk.” Weiss states, still sounding extremely nervous as she speaks.

Neptune smiles kindly. “Let him.” Neptune tells her, she looks at him with a confused expression.

“B-But.”

“No buts, you’re our friend, Weiss. Maybe more than that for me, but you are our friend. And I am certain that Ruby and Yang will feel the same way when we see them again tomorrow. Let your father send his mercenaries, let him make his threats. All that matters is that we are by your side.” Neptune promises, rubbing his thumb across the top of her hand.

“To the end.” He promises.

She can’t fight the urge any longer, and she cannot predict when she will have another chance. She gets up and she caresses both his cheeks with her hands as she leans down and presses her lips to his, making him slightly jolt, until he softly touches her back with his hand. Then she breaks the kiss with a gasp, wide eyed at what she just did, covering her mouth. “I – I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to...I...I...” Weiss stammers nervously and with complete embarrassment, her cool cheeks flush red with blushing.

Until she feels Neptune’s hand gently push through her hair and lightly holding the back of her neck, silencing her worries, her eyes dart to his arm and then to his eyes again. He has the same enamoured smile on his face, looking into her big blue eyes. “It’s okay...I was hoping we’d have a second shot without Scarlet and Sage barging in at the most inopportune moment.” Neptune chuckles, making her giggle as well.

Then he asks the silly question. “Was that your first kiss?” He asks her, and she blushes again.

“Maybe...” She shyly admits, making him chuckle, then she looks into his eyes again with more confidence. “Doesn’t have to stay that way though.” She softly whispers to him and Neptune raises his eyebrows with a smirk.

“Oh yeah?” Neptune flirtatiously asks her and she smiles back.

“Mhm...If you’re good.” She giggles, sounding more like Weiss again with her confidence sparking back into her. Yet despite that confidence, she still pulls away slightly, she desperately wants it but she is so nervous. Her heart beats so fast she could not get a decent breath. Her head that just seconds before had been full of unasked-for thoughts was now buzzing with anticipation and anxiety. She felt his breath on her cheeks. He watched her eyelids flutter, then close.

Then their lips met...

They held the kiss for a few seconds, holding each other close and as if they had become one at that moment. No more beating around the bush, the two of them are now committed to each other. Feeling the warmth of their lips together and the excitement that buzzes across her body. Neptune gently pushes his fingers through her long white hair as they have to take a breath for a moment, only to share a second kiss directly afterwards.

She had wanted this since Beacon...

Her Knight in Shining Armour finally rescued her from her tower with this kiss, despite her physically leaving it ages ago. Only here and now does she actually feel free from her father’s eye.

Their embrace and kiss breaks, and their eyes open up, she looks into his eyes and only one thing emerges from her. A very gentle and adorable laugh emerges as she buries her head into his shoulder, and he shyly laughs too. She climbs over and lies next to him on the chair, resting her head on his bare chest, still holding his hand.

“Thank you Neptune.” She delicately whispers as he strokes her long white hair.

“Any time, Snow Angel.” He replies with similar delicacy.

 

**Ruby**

The sun rises above the City of Mistral, and Ruby yawns as she opens her silver eyes, sitting up slowly.

She has a severely bad case of bed-head, hair all over the place and looking like an utter mess as she looks around with a gormless expression. Only to slowly turn and see the orange hair and cyan blue eyes of Nora Valkyrie staring straight at her. “Wuh...” Ruby moans, until suddenly being blown back by the hyperactively energetic voice of Nora.

“Wake up! Sleepy Butt!” Nora bellows, so loud that Ruby falls back onto her bed with a scream.

“Wah!” Ruby squeals, nearly falling off her bed and onto the mahogany floor. She slowly peeks over the bed with an annoyed growl, same sort of one she would make towards her sister for doing something similar. Nora prances back and forth, and she cannot help but notice Ren is here too, shaking his head with a smile he cannot hold back. Because he knows the drill better than Ruby does from their days at Beacon, and poor Jaune and Pyrrha would have had to sit through it as well.

“It’s morning! It’s morning! It’s Mor-ning!” Nora gleefully sings, prancing back and forth on the other side of Ruby’s bed, then she slowly stands up with her hand rubbing her eye.

“Too early, Nora...” She groans.

“What? It’s never too early!” Nora squeaks, and Ruby complains constantly as she waddles into the living room of the house that Qrow has rented for them to stay in. He is still asleep on the couch, gave up his bed for Oscar to sleep in. He probably finds the couch more comfortable anyway, since he probably finds himself on it most of the time, or on the floor from passing out. Ruby looks at the other Couch and Jaune is sat there with his leg crossed over the other and his arms crossed behind the back of his head.

“Morning Jaune.” Ruby yawns as she stretches out her arms, making Jaune chuckle, she never has been a great morning person. She and Weiss both, Yang has always been the energetic one and Blake is...well...Blake.

“Good morning, sleep well?” Jaune suggestively asks her, and she raises a brow suspiciously as she plants her hand on her hip.

“My dear friend, Jaune Arc, are you implying something here?” Ruby grills, leaning forward with both of her hands on her hips, looking very suspicious of Mr. Arc.

“What? No, of course not.” Jaune sarcastically replies, batting it off with his hand. “It’s that – oh I dunno – we all woke up two hours ago so I had to ask Nora to give you the Team J.N.P.R treatment.” Jaune says, looking at Nora and giving her a jokey wink, in which she replies with the same wink and a thumbs up. Ren rolls his eyes and shakes his head with a smile, seems the two of them have just naturally started waking up earlier to avoid Nora’s wrath.

Ruby’s silver eyes sinisterly turn to her passed out Uncle and a cunning smirk forms as she insidiously approaches him with tiptoes. She looks back at the others with a big smile on her face, crouching down beside his ear as he lays there, probably still hung-over from how much he drank last night. “Wanna know how I wake Uncle Qrow up after he drinks a lot?” Ruby asks, and Jaune shrugs his shoulders.

She takes a deep breath with that same bright smile of hers, until a shrilling cheery scream erupts into his ear. “Good Morning, Uncle Qrow!” Ruby screams at the top of her lungs right into his ear, and Qrow screams as he flails about on the sofa, pressing his hands against his head.

“Argh! By the gods!” Qrow screams, jolting so suddenly it actually throws him in the air, and off the couch, and onto the floor again with a thud. Ruby giggles tenaciously, bouncing up and down on the spot with a big smile on her face.

“Ha-Ha! Works every time!” She giggles, as if she were twelve, yet she is sixteen and has not changed at all. Qrow cracks his neck and grumbles a sigh, staring at her with sunken tired eyes.

“You know that I don’t find that very funny.” Qrow states with a sigh, slowly standing back up, pressing one hand to his head. Qrow sighs with annoyance as he stands there, stumbling slightly from how quickly he had to wake up just then. Ruby giggles as she walks past her uncle, dwarfed in comparison in height.

“Sorry, Uncle Qrow.” Ruby apologises, rather sweetly as well as she walks over to the chair and sits on it. The door opens behind them and they look round, seeing Oscar emerging, looking as timid as ever when he enters the room. He looks at them all with large hazel coloured eyes.

“Um...good morning.” He nervously greets with a short smile on his face. Ruby looks at him with a gentle smile on her face, her welcoming demeanour is always a warm feeling for Oscar, since he is so far away from home in every single way. It is like an alien landscape for him, he has always lived in the countryside.

“Good morning, Oscar. Did you sleep well?” Ruby asks him with kindness in her voice and heart.

“Uh, a little. It’s strange sleeping somewhere away from home.” Oscar admits.

“Homesick? Yeah I get that, I struggled when I first went to Beacon. But don’t you worry, soon you’ll be kicking Grimm butt just like the rest of us!” Ruby squeaks, and with the pump of her fist and the bounce from her feet, she is always able to give people the push that they need to keep moving forward.

Qrow walks over to Ruby and places his hand on her head gently. “Alright...before we go see Lionheart...a little payback.” Qrow whispers into her ear with a sinister smirk, and Ruby’s eyes widen when she realises what he is about to do. He suddenly grabs her and gives her an almighty noogie on the top of her head, rubbing his knuckles across her head.

“Ah!” Ruby squeals as she fights against her uncle as he laughs, releasing her quickly so he does not hurt her. “Hate it when you do that.”

“Well let’s call it even.” Qrow says as he holds out his hands, picking his sword up and attaching it back to his belt. His eyes lift up to the clock.

09:00

He looks at them all.

“It’s time...”

 

**Qrow**

 

They all arrive at the Headmaster’s Office promptly...

Ruby stands behind Qrow with her hands held before her stomach, crossed over one another. She can feel the nervousness in her bones, like a shivering statue that is about to enter an auction. She calms down though, when she feels the calming touch of Jaune’s hand on her shoulder. She looks up at him with a smile, and he nods to her, so she exhales as Qrow knocks on the door.

The muffled voice of Professor Lionheart emerges from beyond the wooden doors. “Come in, Qrow.” Lionheart speaks, so Qrow pushes both hands against the doors and he enters the office where Lionheart is waiting for them. He stands there at the end of his table, his hands held behind his back. “Hello again.” He respectfully greets with a polite bow. The welcoming seems more formal than it was before, since Watts is not there to leave in the first place.

Qrow walks inside first, as the younger Hunters follow him, Oscar looks around and his eyes focus on the mahogany table and the tea set that Ozpin gave him. He can remember it so vividly, as if he was the one that handed it to him as a gift when the School was complete. “I apologise for our earlier meeting if I seemed rather flustered.” Lionheart states as he sits down at his seat behind his desk.

“Mistral Council riding you again?” Qrow presumes, and he sighs.

“Yes.” He agrees, grabbing the bridge of his nose with a pinch, both Leo and Ozpin never have overly liked Politics that much. But they just put up with it and try and do what they can with what they have. Then Ren asks a question that has been on his mind for a while now after that first meeting with him.

“That man you spoke to before we came in...was he a member of the council?” Ren asks him, and they cannot see the concern on his face. His eyes dance back and forth as he formulates a lie to hide the truth of he is – Doctor Arthur Watts, after all.

“In a way, he works for them and makes sure that the interests of the council are in order.” Lionheart lies, rather well too, since none of them even question it from the way he says that.

“What did he want?” Qrow inquires.

“After the attack on Mistral from the Grimm, the council have become very self-centred, preservation of our civilisation at all costs. They have been trying to get as many Huntsmen from me as they can and get as many children into the Academies as well to breed more.” Lionheart explains, and Ruby’s silver eyes widen with shock when she hears him say that.

“That many Huntsmen and Huntresses died?” She asks him.

“Yes, students and teachers...and the Grimm just seem to grow in forces. Every now and then entire villages in Anima have gone dark, farmlands ransacked by Bandit Tribes – like the Branwen Tribe.” Lionheart explains, looking right at Qrow. The young students gasp and look to their mentor, and he stands there with sorrowful eyes. He never did tell them about his past with the Branwen Tribe, and why Raven is still a part of them all.

Lionheart realises and his eyes widen. “Oh...I didn’t know...” He awkwardly stammers as he strokes his grey beard he has grown.

“It’s alright, Leo. I guess I was gonna tell them sometime.” Qrow sighs.

“You were part of a Bandit Tribe?” Ruby softly asks him with confusion, Taiyang never did feel comfortable with talking about where her Uncle and Aunt came from. Especially not to Yang since Raven is her mother after all, finding out she is a bandit could have really hurt her feelings. Or worse inspired her to join her mother and become another thug that kills people for their own power and wealth.

“Yes – your Aunt and I lost our parents when we were younger than you, and we were found by the Tribe – and they took us in. They trained us, fed us even helped teach us things outside of fighting as well.” Qrow explains to the five of them that stand around him, and Jaune looks a little concerned.

“Why did you end up going to Beacon?” Jaune inquires.

“We were told to – to learn how to kill Huntsmen so then they could not mess up our raids or attack our bases. Fighting fire with fire, basically – but...Raven wanted to stay with the Tribe, and I wanted to help Oz.” Qrow explains, and then he snaps his fingers. “And just like that – everything we had gone through, everything we survived, meant nothing because of our diverging paths.” Qrow concludes as he stands there.

“You said to Yang once...that you don’t agree with your sister’s way of looking at the world...what did you mean by that?” Ruby asks him nervously.

“She believes that there is a natural order to everything – the weak die and the strong live – and that nothing else matters.” Qrow answers, and Nora’s eyes widen when he says that.

“That’s...kinda dark.” Nora mutters.

“Ha, that’s one way of putting it.” Qrow says, agreeing but still pointing out the humour in the way that she said it. Lionheart nods his head, and then he chimes into the conversation.

“Indeed, and Raven has become the leader of the Tribe after the original founder passed away a few years ago. Ever since they have continued to raid...until...” Lionheart pauses, and that pause is enough to give Qrow some worry. They may not see eye-to-eye but they are still brother and sister at the end of the day.

“Until what, is she dead?” Qrow asks, with a heightened concern in his voice.

“We do not know, I have sent many spies out there and they have turned up nothing. But their last point of camp is wiped clean. They must have packed up and moved off, but they also determined that they left seven months ago, and in those seven months they have not been responsible for a single attack.” Lionheart explains, and Qrow looks really concerned now, more so than he did before. It is not like Raven to just change her mind that quickly, and if they were wiped out there would be signs.

The Branwen Tribe is big, and has collected a vast amount of followers since Qrow left. “That’s not right; Raven does not just change her mind that quickly.” Qrow mutters.

“Well that is one of the reasons I have asked you to come here today, not just to discuss these matters with you, Qrow...” Lionheart says as he slightly smiles when he stands up. Ruby raises a brow with curiosity with this little change in his demeanour. “But I have met some new guests recently with other willing Huntsmen who are happy to help you.” Lionheart says with a smile, looking right at Ruby.

He chuckles with that smile. “You know them as well.” He says, calling to the guards outside one of the doors. “Lieutenant! Let them in.” Lionheart orders, and the two doors open and Ruby turns round and her eyes widen, her heart nearly stops with shock and disbelief. Clearly Lionheart could guess who these people were to her, so he must have let them have a sweet little surprise.

Ruby sets her eyes on her sister who stands there before her, long blonde hair seeming to blow in the draft from the open windows. She recoils back with shock, mouth agape and widened eyes; even Qrow is shocked yet proud to see Yang there. But what shocks them more is that Weiss is stood beside Yang, they must have reunited before they had gotten a chance to witness it.

Neptune stands there with a smile as he looks at Weiss, gently pushing her forward to speak to Ruby with Yang. Ruby’s big sister approaches her without the help of Kassius who stands there with his arms crossed and back leant against the wall, looking at the young girl. He cannot help but be amazed by how much Ruby has grown since he last saw her. Jaune stands there in awe of seeing them all again, Nora and Ren are the same.

Poor Oscar is completely lost.

He has no idea who anybody right there are.

“Y-Yang?” Ruby stammers nervously as she looks at her sister as she glares at her. But as she stands there, all the emotions begin to creep up into her mind. The sadness she felt of thinking her big sister was gone, the fear she felt of losing her friends again...the guilt she felt for leaving without saying goodbye. “Yang...I-I’m so sorry, I should’ve stayed...I should’ve...I should’ve talked to you more. I-I, I just didn’t think you wanted me around because –”

Suddenly she is pulled to Yang’s warm embrace, holding her close, her eyes widen when she feels that, fully expecting Yang to be angry for how she left with just a letter. Their father would have definitely given her a proper telling off for that kind of business, but Yang doesn’t. She just holds her close, and just as the tears stream from her baby sister’s eyes, the same happens for Yang. “Don’t ever disappear on me like that again...” Yang begs with a heartbroken voice as she holds her sister so close and tight.

Ruby sniffles, having to catch her breath from the many emotions she is feeling right now. The urge to hold back the tears finally recedes and she cries into her big sister/s shoulder, holding her tight as well. “I promise...” Ruby sniffles.

They don’t have to tell each other how much they love each other.

They are sisters.

It is hardwired into them.

Lionheart stands there with a happy smile on his face, and despite all the lies he made earlier about the truth of who Watts is – this actually seems to be the most genuine thing he has expressed so far. Legitimate happiness for them, looking at the reunion which has happened before his very eyes. Lionheart looks past them to Kassius and sees him nod to him with his arms crossed as he stands there. Lionheart nods in return as he looks at him.

Qrow stands there with a happy smile as he sees Ruby legitimately happy now, and not just for the sake of keeping everyone else’s morale up. Jaune, Nora and Ren look at them with awestruck smiles; they thought that they would never see any of them again. The air is thick with joy; even Kassius can feel it and he does not even know most of the people in the room. He just remains where he stands with his hat on his head and a smile also present. Neptune looks at Weiss with Scarlet and Sage stood behind him, then he gently pushes the nervous Former Heiress forward. “Come on...” He softly says to her with a smile, she looks at him and then she exhales.

But before she can speak.

She sees both Ruby and Yang looking at her, with their arms open to her. “Weiss...” Ruby gently says, both with tears in their eyes as they look at her. Weiss’ heart melts as she hears her say that, tears stream from her eyes as she looks at them. Then she runs to them and jumps into their arms as they embrace tearfully.

The three of them look at each other with widened eyes of seeing each other again.

“What are you both doing here?” Ruby asks them with a shocked voice, still trying to comprehend it.

“Looking for you, in fact.” Yang admits, and Kassius clears his throat.

“I can vouch for that as well, knucklehead.” Kassius says with a wink as he looks at her younger sister, making her eyes widen again when she sees him. She could recognise that voice and that smirk anywhere, but she has not seen it since he left to Mistral.

“Kassius?” She gasps, and he chuckles.

“Hey there, knucklehead.” He chuckles.

Yang cannot place if his nickname for her is a pun on the fact she and her team managed to kill the legendary Nuckelavee, or if he is using the basic phrase. Then again, he has always called her knucklehead, because she is one at the end of the day. She runs over to him and gives him a big hug. “What are you doing here?” The tiny thing asks him with a shocked voice.

“What am I doing here? I live here, what are you doing here?”

But before they can go any further, Lionheart laughs as he holds his hands up. “Okay, okay...” He says as he stands there.

Lionheart looks at them and then he places his hands together with pride. “I believe it would be good for these young fellows to enjoy some alone time – take some time to reunite, catch up.” Lionheart recommends with a smile as he looks at them, and Neptune nods at him. Oscar stands there, hearing the voice of Ozpin in his head.

“Well, at least Lionheart has not lost his sense of kindness. I just hope his honour holds up.” Ozpin says in Oscar’s mind, and the young man ponders on what he said.

Ruby giggles nervously as she stands there looking at the Professor. “Oh, yeah...sorry Professor.” She stammers, but Lionheart just smiles kindly again.

“Do not worry, dear child. Go on; spend some time catching up together. It’s been a long road; I think they have earned a little relaxation.” Lionheart says as he looks at Qrow, and clearly that means that he and Qrow can have the rest of their conversation. Ruby looks at Weiss and she smiles, walking with her, and Yang turns to Kassius, but he does not leave.

“Kas? Are you coming?” She asks him.

“Sure, I’ll find ya later. But I need to report something to Lionheart.” Kassius tells her with a wink and making a clicking sound with his tongue in his mouth. Yang’s eyelids sink down as he walks past him, despite everything he still has that super-smartass personality he loves so much.

Jaune, Nora and Ren leave behind Neptune as Kassius walks into the room and Qrow chuckles with amazement. “Kassius Locke?” He speaks with awe.

“Qrow Branwen.” He returns with a smirk, extending his cybernetic arm to shake his hand, and his eyes widen when he sees it. “I would say in the flesh...but that’d be lying wouldn’t it?” He presumes with a chuckle. Qrow smiles and he shakes his metal hand, looking at him.

“Man, I remember you when you were this big.” He says, holding his hand just up to his hip. “You look different.” He admits, not just talking about his cybernetic arm, but Kassius’ remark stings hard.

“Mhm, and I remember you having less grey in the temples.” He cheekily says as he looks at the aging hairs he has forming.

“Hey, not funny.” Qrow states as he turns to Lionheart and with Kassius at his side. With Oscar gone, he is going to have to tell Ozpin about whatever it is that they speak about here.

Lionheart turns and looks at the twenty year old Huntsman whom stands before him with his arms at his sides, unlike most Huntsmen who are more formal. But in fairness, that is what Lionheart likes about him, he is super laid back and likes being a smartass. “Kassius, I was going to ask you earlier but with Miss Xiao Long there, I didn’t.” Lionheart admits, which piques Qrow’s curiosity, looking both at the Professor and the Huntsman.

“Huh? Ask him what?” Qrow inquires.

“Well, as Ozpin had Team S.T.R.Q and Team R.W.B.Y, I had Team C.R.D.V.” Lionheart states, clearly Ozpin was not the only Headmaster to take interest in certain teams. But the uncle-figure that he is to Kassius, Qrow quickly latches to the past tense, looking at Kassius.

“Had?” Qrow asks.

Kassius just nods, and that is all the information that Qrow needs for now. “I’m sorry, Kas...I really am.” Qrow apologises.

“Don’t – I don’t need other’s pity for my mistakes.” He says, still blaming himself for their deaths as he told Yang. At the end of the day though, Yang is not the leader of Team R.W.B.Y, her sister is. Therefore she does not know what it is like to lose your entire team on your watch, it would mess with anybody’s head.

Especially for someone who is as selfless as Kassius.

Kassius looks at the Headmaster and he speaks. “I have a report on the situation you sent me to recon.” Kassius says.

“What situation?” Qrow inquires. “How much have I missed?”

“That is what I wanted to speak with you about – both of you, please take a seat.” He says as he sits down at his chair. Kassius pulls a chair over and so does Qrow, then they both sit down on them. They both look and listen to the headmaster as he speaks to them. “Qrow, have you noticed a strange military presence poking around in my city? Even in my school in areas?” He asks him.

“The Mistraalian Knights?” Qrow speaks with confusion, not finding the issue.

“That is the issue, these are not the people I am talking about.” He says and his eyes become more concerned as he looks at Kassius.

“Then who are we talking about?” Qrow asks with a more serious tone of voice, so Lionheart leans forward.

“Do the Acolytes of Lien ring a bell to you?” Lionheart asks him, and Qrow ponders on that. He has encountered them a couple times on his missions, but he never paid them much mind.

“Yeah – that Private Military Organisation, right?” Qrow presumes.

“Mhm.” Lionheart nods.

“Why?” Qrow asks.

“Well, about a month ago they started popping up around the city in different locations. First they were in the Lower Districts, then the Ground District and now they are in the Higher Districts of Mistral. They have been seen everywhere, patrolling for some reason.” Lionheart explains.

“Mercenaries walking around is understandable...but a Private Military in force? That’s not a normal sign.” Qrow says as he thinks on this, understanding the concerns that Lionheart has of this situation.

“No, it isn’t. So I sent Kassius on a mission to figure out what it is that they are up to. And Kassius you said that you found something?” Lionheart asks him.

“Yeah – and our lead was just in the room a second ago.” Kassius tells them.

“Weiss Schnee?” Lionheart asks.

“You knew?” Kassius asks.

“Yes she came to see me earlier, about changing her identity to get away from them. Neptune and his team were helping her out with it.” Lionheart explains to him, and Qrow looks curious as he leans forward.

“What has the Ice Queen got to do with the Acolytes?” He asks.

“Well, you see she escaped from Atlas, and with Ironwood closing the borders of Atlas completely...she must have smuggled her way out. Qrow – you and I have both seen how ruthless Jacques Schnee is, it is entirely possible that he could be behind their noticeable presence here in my Kingdom.” Lionheart states. Qrow leans back into the chair, wood creaking as his back presses against it. Qrow sighs, reaching into his inner pocket of his coat and he holds his flask in his hand, unscrewing the cap to take a swig from it.

“This isn’t good, Leo.” He sighs.

“No, it isn’t. Which is why...I am hoping those children will help us figure out what they are up to. They are after Weiss and Winter Schnee and –”

“Winter’s here?” Qrow suddenly erupts with widened eyes, and Kassius looks at him with a raised brow.

“Ooh...I sense there’s something going on here.” He chuckles.

“Yes, she came here to keep an eye on the citizens and make sure that this – _Cinder Fall­ ­­_ – character does not show up and cause more havoc like at Vale. But she has stopped reporting in recently, and her ship has not returned to pick her up. I am concerned, Qrow.” Lionheart explains, and Qrow sighs.

“We need to find Winter, help Weiss change her identity as best as we can.” Qrow agrees.

“On that Qrow...we are in agreement.”

 

**Lionheart**

Leo sits there, after the conversation with Qrow and Kassius ended, he watches as they leave and the door closes.

He closes his eyes and he sighs heavily, pressing his hand to his head as he sits at his desk, when suddenly a holographic _W_ appears from his scroll, slowly rotating round as a familiar voice emerges. “Not bad, Leo – I almost believed you were telling the truth about me.” Watts chuckles.


	9. Fear and Loss

**Ruby**

The clamouring of exited voices fills the dining room where they have set the many plates of a takeaway that has finally arrived at the house. And even after all the hours they spent waiting for this food, they all still have so much to tell them all. “You won’t believe everything that we have been through!” Ruby squeals, nearly bouncing up and down in her seat as they all share the food that they have gotten.

Boxes upon boxes of noodles, rice and countless flavoured chicken chunks, succulent beef and plenty more food as well. They all have glasses of either juice or water – except for Ruby who has gotten herself a glass of milk. Even after all these years she still likes to drink milk as often as she possibly can, something that comes of no surprise to all her friends.

Sat round the large wooden table are Ruby, Weiss and Yang – all beginning to tuck into this lovely food before their very eyes. Along with Jaune, Nora and Ren, Neptune, Scarlet and Sage as well with their plates before them. Nora takes a freakishly large spoonful of noodles and slaps it on her plate with a giggle, like some sort of feral animal that has not fed in other a week. Salivating at the mere sight of all this food right there for the taking. Kassius, Oscar and Qrow are in the other room.

Kassius does not know the others yet – and he knows that she needs a nice little reunion after all the hectic chaos that has been going on. Ruby reaches across the table to grab the spoon that Sage has just put down so then she can get a scoop of warm rice onto her plate. “I heard about the Nuckelavee that you four managed to kill – that’s incredible.” Weiss says with awe in both her voice and her eyes.

“Yeah, the locals here keep saying that nobody was able to kill that thing before you guys.” Yang states, remembering some of the things that they all said when exploring the city of Mistral. Ren nervously chuckles, thinking back to the skirmish with that monster that they had in Kuroyuri. Many people claim that revenge does not grant some people closure, but Ren did not only do that for himself. He killed that thing for every single soul that it had taken in its existence.

Meaning that it felt like a true victory, and that now at least all their souls can rest easily knowing that the Nuckelavee is dead and never returning.

“It was a hard fight, it got a little hairy at the end.” Nora admits, remembering when it grabbed her and slammed her against the stone ground with force. Doing the same to Ren as well, they will never forget the roars and shrieks that thing let out.

Then Jaune sighs, closing his blue eyes. “Well we’d have never had to kill it if it weren’t for me losing the stupid map.” Jaune sighs, making Ruby, Ren and Nora giggle at the way he sighs at that particular memory. Neptune raises a brow and he leans round Weiss to look at him.

“Uh...do go on?” Neptune requests with curiosity.

“In short, we saw an abandoned town and we went to investigate. Jaune lost the map when we ran to help.” Ruby answers, making Yang laugh at the circumstance.

“How did you manage to lose the map at a time like that?” Yang asks him with a confused pair of large lilac eyes, and a pair of chopsticks in her grasp. Jaune sighs, but he cannot help but laugh at his own misfortune himself.

“Believe me – I’ve been asking myself the same question ever since.” He admits with a chuckle, making them all laugh, which makes him laugh as well. Ruby cannot help but smile when she sees that smile of his own again, it has been a really long time since she last saw it. Nora chimes in with the same level of joy in her voice as ever before.

“Hey! But you made up for it – _Mr Muscles_! You should have seen Jaune take on that Nuckelavee head on!” Nora gleefully cheers, filling his spirit, and that even surprises Sage. He does live here, so then of all the people the three of them would know of the Legendary Grimm better than most people.

“You managed to take that thing on yourself? Damn, man...you’re crazier than me.” Sage chuckles.

“And that’s saying something.” Scarlet admits as he sucks some of his noodles into his mouth. Sage jokingly retaliates from his cheeky comment with a firm smack on his back, causing him to choke on a noodle. They all laugh at his misfortune now as he gags constantly, since he has an extremely tender gag reflex. He gags at nearly anything gross, hell even just the change in temperature makes him gag.

He’s weird like that.

But as always, Jaune never feels comfortable when taking all the credit for something. “Well I couldn’t have done that without Ruby wearing the thing down.” Jaune defends, looking at one of his closest friends, and Ruby is just as humble as he is.

“Uh – Me? Didn’t you see Ren out there? I mean he was out of control!” Ruby squeaks as she waves her arms around, then Ren gets as apologetic as ever. If anybody would take the crown of being the most likely to apologise for something that they didn’t do, it would go to Lie Ren.

“I’m sorry, I may have lost my temper momentarily.” Ren admits, but Ruby gives him a gentle smile and bright eyes as she waves her hands around again as she speaks. As if it is a mandatory thing for her to do when speaking.

“No, no – _out of control_ as in _awesome_.” Ruby clarifies.

“Oh...” Ren replies, with a few seconds of silence as his mature and formal mind comprehends her words. “Thank you.” He says with a smile, making them all laugh at the way he says that.

Outside of the room that they are eating in, are Qrow, Kassius and Oscar, sat there with their own meals inside. Oscar gently and shyly eats his foot whilst Kassius basically devours it in a few seconds. And he has a massive plate, bigger than Qrow’s one and he tends to have pretty big dinners in general.

Qrow looks at Kassius as he consumes his food, and he cannot believe that the words are leaving his mouth as he looks at the young man. “Must you eat like a pig?” He asks him, sounding like Winter when he says that. It even makes his shudder at the idea of being so formal.

“What can I say? I love a good takeaway.” Kassius answers as he shrugs his shoulders.

“Doesn’t mean you have to eat all of it in one go.” Qrow states.

“Alright, dad.” Kassius sarcastically replies, and Qrow sighs, shaking his head. Clearly some things have not changed over the years since they last met one another. Then he asks Kassius the curious question on his mind.

“Why don’t you join her? I’m sure the others would love to meet you.” Qrow asks him curiously.

“In time, but they’re her friends. Let her reunite with them.” Kassius says as he eats a chunk of chicken covered in barbecue sauce, his eyes widen and he points at the chunk remaining on the fork. “Damn...this is good.” He admits, and he looks over at Oscar who is timidly eating away. “Do you like it Oscar?” He asks the young boy.

“Um...Yeah...just...” He stammers shyly.

“What’s up, kid?” Qrow asks him, having to look down at him.

“Well, I grew up on a farm. I’ve never had food like this before...it’s...a little...” He says with a scrunched up face and a cough.

“Ah...someone’s never had spicy food before.” Kassius chuckles as he leans back, and he nods his head.

“Well slow down kiddo, you don’t have to be as much as an animal as that guy.” Qrow assures, pointing at Kassius with his thumb.

“What’s wrong with being an animal?” Kassius inquires, not even denying the insult thrown his way. The fact he does not even deny it does make Oscar softly laugh at his sense of humour.

“So – how long have you been at Haven Academy?” Oscar asks Kassius with a rather curious tone. Kassius sets his fork down on his plate beside his knife and the chopsticks that he does not use because he cannot figure them out. He is not overly open about that topic due to his team, but there are some areas he is comfortable talking about.

“Let’s see...” Kassius mumbles, pressing his finger to his chin as he ponders on that question. “...something like three or four years now. I left two years before Yang could qualify for Beacon Academy.” Kassius answers, Qrow nods since he can remember that day as well.

“I remember, you and Yang had to break up, didn’t you?” Qrow asks him.

“Yeah – I mean we were really young to call it a relationship at the time.” Kassius admits, they were essentially just much closer than to be called mere friends at the time.

“So did you have a team of your own? Like Ruby and Jaune?” Oscar inquires, listening to Ruby’s laugh from the other room. Kassius sits there, twiddling his fingers as he thinks on that question. He has only told Yang about what happened to his team, so he just sighs with his eyes closed.

“I did.” He simply says, and that is enough to stop Oscar from plunging any further into the rabbit hole that is Kassius Locke. Qrow looks at him, he has always seen him as a son or a nephew of his own in ways. The way he has always been there for his actual nieces, he may as well be family.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Qrow inquires.

“Rather not.” Kassius swiftly answers, making Qrow jolt into silence when he says that, as Kassius looks back at his food. Qrow has never seen Kassius this unwilling to talk about something, hell he even admitted that he is an animal earlier and did not even hesitate in saying so. But this sends him into a state of silence. But Qrow respects the young Huntsman so he refuses to press further, listening to the group of happy individuals in the other room.

Ruby gasps dramatically, having to catch her breath from taking in so much air in the process. “You did not!” Ruby gasps, wide silver eyes staring straight at Weiss who has her head in her hands. She has not yet brought up the fact that her father has stripped the Schnee Dust Company Heiress Title from her name, but she does speak of something else entirely that embarrasses her more now than when it happened.

“Yeah – right in the middle of the party.” She admits with a defeated tone. She is telling them the story of how she went crazy at that pompous Atlesian during the Schnee Fundraiser when she was mouthing off about how _Vale deserved what was coming_. All that was on her mind were all the good people who died in that battle – Penny, Pyrrha and countless other brave people died there that day. Yang and Blake were almost among them from what Adam managed to do single handedly.

She was expecting them all to be shocked at her outburst, but in fact they are all proud of her. “Please tell me you let that stupid lady have it.” Yang begs, on edge as she sits there. Jaune is sat beside her with nearly all the noodles trapped in his mouth, looking at the Ice Queen beside her with wide eyes at this story.

“Of course not.” Weiss replies, acting all proper and as if she would never do such a thing, despite lying. “Even though I really wanted to.” Weiss admits with a soft giggle, making some of them laugh. Scarlet looks at Weiss and he chuckles.

“Weiss Schnee wanting to break the rules for once – I never thought I’d see the day.” Scarlet scoffs as he looks at her, in which she just shrugs her shoulders with a smile. Nora shakes her head then crosses her arms, sitting upright in her chair.

“No way – I don’t believe it.” Nora denies, closing her eyes and holding her head high. Suddenly a glowing white glyph shaped in the Schnee Family Symbol forms right next to her, her cyan eyes open and she turns.

Unexpectedly the same Boarbatusk stands right next to her, shaking its tusked head with a grunt as it stares at her. Glowing white from her ability to summon the things that she destroys now, it stares right at the young Valkyrie. Nora lets out a scream, recoiling back in her chair and falling right behind Ren, making them all laugh. Ruby gasps and she springs up from her chair, running over to the Boarbatusk. “Wow! You can summon these things? Isn’t this the Boarbatusk you killed in Professor Port’s lesson that one time?” Ruby inquires, petting the Boarbatusk affectionately as she strokes the ghostly white fur across its armoured body.

“I think you may be onto something, Ruby. I hadn’t thought about it but in that moment I wondered – what would you have done?” Weiss admits as she looks at her, making Ruby smile.

_She’s thought about me?_

_We really are B.F.Fs!_

“So you summoned the Boarbatusk?” Jaune asks with confusion.

“Well, I had plenty of time to think there...and I couldn’t stop thinking about how harsh I was to her in that fight. For some reason my mind went there, and that happened.” Weiss explains, looking at the Boarbatusk that Ruby continues to pet and pet.

But then the Boarbatusk fades away, and Ruby looks at Weiss with puppy sad eyes, her lip quivering. “Sorry, Ruby – I’m still working on my Summoning.” Weiss says as she looks at her hand, forming a glyph symbol in her hand. But when Ruby looks at it, she walks back to the table and sits down.

“So...can you summon anything?” Ruby inquires.

“Any Grimm I have personally killed. That’s why I could summon the Boarbatusk, and I think it needs to stem from specific memories.” Weiss says to Ruby, and it is understandable.

The Giant Armour can be summoned, and that thing did give her that deep scar across her eye. The Boarbatusk was summoned from that exact memory, perhaps that is how it works. “That’s awesome.” Nora admits, climbing back onto her chair. But then Yang stands up, cracking her neck as she stands before them all with a smirk on her face.

“Speaking of awesome stuff.” Yang says, flexing her cybernetic arm, and their eyes all widen, gasps spread around the room with awe of her arm. The black and yellow plates of metal with countless sections of wiring thread through the internals of her muscles.

“Wow!” Neptune chuckles with awe, staring at it.

“It’s no replacement for the original thing – but I’ll be sure to make good use of it.” Yang says to them all with a bright smile that Ruby never saw on her face since she left. A lot has changed, and she can actually see her big sister again. Nora has both thumbs up with a big toothy grin on her face, whereas Jaune looks in awe.

“That’s amazing...” Jaune speaks with his breath taken away.

“Incredible...” Ren agrees.

“And General Ironwood made it for you?” Weiss asks her, Yang nods her head, remembering what Taiyang had told her when she was still suffering from her memories of what happened. Seeing the flashing markings of Adam’s mask before her very eyes.

“Yep, at least that’s what my dad told me. That Ironwood made it as thanks for everything I did at Beacon.” Yang says, before her eyes turn to her beloved sister who lets out the most adorable gasp with bulging silvery eyes. She springs up from her chair yet again and runs to her big sister’s side, holding the arm above her short little body, gazing upwards at the joints.

“And it’s still just as strong?” She asks her, and Yang scoffs.

“Oh yeah, much stronger.” Yang wages, when the slamming sound of Nora’s elbow hits the table. They all look across the table to see her with her arm held up to challenge her.

“Wanna bet?” Nora challenges with a smirk.

“Uh oh...” Sage mutters fearfully.

 

**Lionheart**

The old Headmaster is sat at his table whilst the teams are reunited with his head in his hands over the things that he has done. That is until he hears the sound of the doors opening across the office from him, he slowly takes his hands from his head and stares directly at the man who is leant against the door. “Are you ready?” Watts asks him, with a stern yet powerful voice, and Lionheart glares right at the tall slender man. Watts forcefully slams the door shut, glaring towards the Headmaster and slowly approaching with both hands held behind his back.

Lionheart looks down at his desk with fearful eyes, unable to look at the Wise Doctor whom stands before him. Two Revolvers slotted comfortably in a pair of waist connected holsters on his belt. Watts reveals a cunning smirk behind that thick black moustache of his as he stares at the man, leaning forward into the light. The Headmaster stands up, and he picks up his many keys, walking with the Doctor towards a door behind a bookshelf. He presses a camouflaged button which forces the door to slide open slowly for them all to enter the mysterious room inside.

Watts walks with his hands still behind his back, right behind Lionheart who holds his hands close to his body and his head low, none of these traits fit the Lion in his name. Inside of the mysterious room is a mysterious Creature of Grimm, similar to a Jellyfish but it seems to live quite comfortably on land. It practically floats off the floor with long red tentacles with bone barbs attached to the very ends of them, all attached to a spherical black body with bone plates around the bottom and top of the torso.

Lionheart stops before the Creature – known as the Seer – but Watts pushes him forward towards the clicking and raspy creature. “After you.” Watts orders, staring at him, and Lionheart turns to the Seer with shaking hands.

“Your Grace...Are you there?” Lionheart stammers, then something changes in the Seer’s body before his very eyes, and the red mist forms the face of their enemy. The pale white complexion of her skin, the black veins and red eyes form and so does her smirk as she stares at the Headmaster.

“Hello, Leonardo – do you have something to report?” Salem inquires. Salem's skin is a deathly pallor, covered with deep red and purple veins that run up her arms and face. The sclerae of her eyes are jet black and her irises glow red, even brighter when she is agitated. She has a black diamond-shaped marking in the centre of her forehead. She wears a very long black robe with red designs resembling eyes. She also wears a ring resembling an insect on her right index finger. She has white hair formed into a bun with six offshoots from which ornaments are suspended.

The trembling man continues to quiver, until he finally formulates an answer of which he can give the Dark Queen. “Of course, ma’am...I’d never waste your time otherwise.” He admits with the same tremble in his voice. But then Watts brushes past him and stares right at the Seer, his nose almost pressed against it.

“I must say I still ever so fascinated by this creature – Cinder, my dear are we coming though?” He asks as he pokes the Seer’s almost glass head as he looks at Cinder who is actually stood in the corner with her arms crossed, refusing to look him in the eye. But from the challenge, she grits her teeth and glares straight at him. Salem actually smiles with a silent chuckle, clearly she and Watts have a stronger relationship than the others since he is so willing to do something like that, whereas the rest would never dare. “Can you see my moustache? It’s pretty hard to miss even for a blind person.”

Cinder looks much different compared to how she once looked six months prior when Beacon fell. Her jet black hair is much shorter, no longer caressing her firm fair skin across her head. She wears a black mask that appears to be made of black glass over her missing left eye, and the scarring from said injury extends into a slight x-shape over the bridge of her nose, as well as having deformed and degraded the tissue of her left ear. She wears a long, dark red dress with one long, wide sleeve hiding her left arm. The edges of the collar and the opening for the right arm are gold-coloured, and the upper chest and left sleeve are decorated with golden designs.

The right side of her dress is open from the hip down with two gold-coloured straps made up of interwoven ropes connecting the front half to the back half of her thigh. Under the dress, she appears to wear black pantyhose. On the right hip, the dress has a black rhombus-shaped gem set in a gold-coloured metal of the same shape, with feathers of varying shades of blue extending from the bottom of it. On her right arm, she wears a long, gray glove, the top of which has a gold-coloured metal ring with curvy branching extensions going up her arm. Her right ear has a new, ring-shaped earring higher up than the dangling black gem earring.

But her tenacity remains the same, and her voice has returned with a vengeance, still carrying the damaged tones that she had before. “Shut. Up.” She snarls with gritted teeth and narrowed eyes, fist tightly clenched.

“Oh brilliant, she speaks again.” He sighs, rolling his eyes, until Salem defuses the future argument.

“Your report.” She speaks, and Watts steps aside with that smirk returning as well so then Lionheart can speak.

“I-I’ve located the Silver Eyed Girl you spoke of, your grace.” Lionheart stammers, catching Cinder’s attention and Salem smiles.

“Is that so? Well done – Arthur – Had I have known that you would have been able to expedite this process, I would have sent you to find her instead of Tyrian.” Salem admits, staring at Tyrian rather menacingly as he remains perched on his seat, whilst his Scorpion tail heals from some of the medication that the good Doctor has been able to create.

“As much as I’d love to take credit – I’m afraid there is yet another complication to this matter.” Arthur states, making Salem raise an eyebrow.

“Explain.” Salem demands, staring at Lionheart.

“You see, Your Grace – Qrow Branwen was with her, and it seems that a lot of her friends have arrived here as well. Along with two members from her team, the whereabouts of the third are currently unknown.” Lionheart informs, in which Salem sharply turns her head and stares straight at Tyrian. But Tyrian looks just as confused, standing up from his chair and walking over to her side to look at Watts.

“What? How is this possible? I poisoned him! They were in the middle of the woods and miles from Mistral, how can he possibly be alive?” Tyrian questions with confusion, which does seem to soothe the anger that was building in Salem, since he was not lying to her. He merely did not actually know that he survived in the first place.

“I was informed that the five were picked up after they managed to kill the Nuckelavee of Kuroyuri by some of our Scouting Vessels, and our hospital staff managed to nurse him back to health.” Lionheart explains, Tyrian snarls with gritted teeth and clenches his hand into a fist, until Salem calms him down but just touching his arm.

“Ruby is in Mistral...where?” Cinder questions, thinking back to how it felt to lose her eye the way she did.

“In Haven Academy, however there is an opportunity according to what my little birds have informed me of.” Watts assures.

“And that is?” Salem asks.

“It seems that the little Heiress – or Ex Heiress – Weiss Schnee is here, and her father has put a bounty on her head. It is likely that she is going to try and change her identity soon enough, and thus will lure the little girl out of the Academy.” Watts answers as he speaks with certainty.

“Then we can strike.” Cinder agrees, and Tyrian appears to be eager as well after what she did to his tail.

“And the Spring Maiden?” Salem asks, keeping the conversation on track.

“I have heard nothing of her whereabouts, Ma’am. She knows how to stay out of our earshot.” Watts states, and Salem nods her head slowly.

“I see...” Salem agrees. “Watts, I want you to have you many birds stay in earshot of Ruby Rose and her allies. Make sure you know everything that they plan to do, we will only attack when the time is right. This girl managed to freeze my Dragon on Beacon Tower, this power has not been seen in a very long time. We must be cautious.” Salem orders, and Watts nods his head.

“Very good, Ma’am.” He agrees.

“And Leonardo...” Salem softly says, and he gasps, lifting his head to look at her.

“Yes, your grace?” He asks her.

“I want you to maintain your cover, if Qrow Branwen and those children learn of your betrayal, then the plan we have worked so hard to create will be shattered like glass. And that will not bode well for you.” Salem threatens, and he stammers, bowing his head.

“Y-Yes Ma’am...”

“Good.” Salem states, and the Seer ends the feed from the other that was sat on her table.

 

**Salem**

She remains sat in her throne, then slowly turns to look at Cinder whom she can tell is pondering over something that was just discussed. “Cinder, you are free to speak your mind.” Salem assures. Cinder stands there, and Tyrian watches her, stood right next to Salem like a loyal dog.

“Am I ready to go to Mistral?” Cinder asks her, slowly turning to look at her master.

“Not yet, but soon.” She assures, which causes Cinder to get angry, clenching her hand into a fist and yelling with rage. Her eye ignites with flames, and Tyrian immediately extends his wrist pincer blades to defend his Master with gritted teeth.

“Why? I could destroy that little girl in seconds? Why do you keep holding me back?” Cinder screams with rage, but Salem does not even flinch, she only looks at Tyrian and speaks calmly.

“It’s fine, Tyrian. Stand down.” Salem gently orders, he looks at her and the blades fold backwards into his bracers as he does as he is told. Whereas Cinder eventually calms down, stepping back and exhaling.

“What you did just then is the reason why you cannot leave yet.” Salem tells her, but Cinder just looks confused. Salem stands up slowly and she walks around the large Council Room of her headquarters.

“What do you mean?” Cinder asks.

“As you saw during the Fall of Beacon, Silver Eyed Warriors possess immense power, and butchering the Nikos girl the way you did was enough for the little thing to unleash that power.” Salem explains, which makes Cinder flinch and look away.

“I did not ask her to come after me, I gave her a chance to run away with her friend.” Cinder defends, clearly this means that the Death of Pyrrha Nikos has come up multiple times in the past, and that Salem does not approve really is saying something.

“I understand your reasons, but it does not change the fact. Ruby Rose harnesses the power to strike down armies of my creatures, and could easily kill you if she learns how to harness it. You must harness your own emotions in order to protect your power. And Tyrian is not ready to leave yet either, only when Arthur’s healing stimulants repair his stinger can both of you return to the field.” Salem explains to them both, in which they both share a sigh of frustration.

“I understand...” Tyrian sighs.

“I admire your thirst for revenge, but you cannot let that thirst overpower you. Our ally has managed to destroy Menagerie, and Blake Belladonna managed to escape with her friend. Therefore we can use their want for revenge against them. Do you understand?” Salem asks them.

Cinder broods over her words, and she can see where she is coming from. “Revenge is a weapon that destroys our enemies...I understand.” Cinder answers, walking away from Salem, as does Tyrian.

Salem sits back in her throne with a menacing smirk.

 

**Weiss**

Ruby is fast asleep in her bed whilst the others who do not have bedrooms are all asleep in sleeping bags that they have brought with them or on the sofa like Yang is. Neptune is asleep on the floor beside the sofa that Weiss is sleeping on, and Kassius is beside Yang’s, but Weiss begins to wake up. She rubs her eye and she sniffles, looking around as she sees everybody is asleep in the night.

She looks around, and she gets up.

The thought is in her mind.

_What if they are watching me right now?_

_I cannot wait around..._

_I need to tell her..._

Weiss stands up and she walks into Ruby’s room, seeing the young girl snoring away in her bed with Crescent Rose under the bed and her hand near it. She gently shakes her to wake her up, and Ruby snorts. “Wuh? Weiss?” Ruby stammers.

“I’m in trouble Ruby...” Weiss tells her, and Ruby sits upright, pulling the cord on her light next to her bed so then it flicks on. She sits up and Weiss sits down beside her. Weiss looks over to her friend with slightly shaking hands.

“What is it, Weiss?” Ruby inquires.

“My father...I didn’t tell you all about what happened with my father.” She says softly, now Ruby is fully awake and giving Weiss her full attention.

“Okay, I’m listening.” Ruby assures.

Weiss exhales, as she begins to tell her about why she is in Mistral. “My father stripped me of my right to the Schnee Dust Company and gave it to my brother, and after that he tried to lock me in my room so then he could control me. So I ran, and I got here, to find my sister.” Weiss explains.

“Winter is here?” Ruby questions.

“Yes, and I think she is in trouble. But I cannot risk moving around out here until I change my identity. That is why I am wearing these clothes, why my hair is like this.” Weiss explains, flicking her wavy white hair and tugging at Neptune’s black and blue hoodie.

“Gods...makes sense now.” Ruby realises with wide eyes.

“Well, there are these Mercenaries all over town. Called the Acolytes of Lien and they are all hunting me...trying to kidnap me and send my back to my father. I know it – I need your help Ruby. There is a guy here called Sidewinder who can help me, but I need to get to him.” Weiss begs, and she needn’t say anymore.

“When?” Ruby asks her.

“Huh?”

“When are we doing it?” Ruby asks her again, making her smile.

“We will tell everyone in the morning, then we go. The Mercenaries are probably everywhere at night, at least we can use the crowd to our advantage.” Weiss says.

“Sounds good.”

“Thank you Ruby...”

“Any time, B.F.F.”

**Jaune**

 

The Next Morning

Jaune walks through the streets of Mistral by himself, knowing about what Weiss has told them all now since the morning has passed.

He and many others are scouting around the city, making sure that there are no Acolytes of Lien watching her movements. Weiss is with Ruby, Yang and Neptune to find Sidewinder so then he can get her name changed.

He looks around, observing the architecture of this beautiful city. The waterfall roars, tonnes of water crashing down into the lake inside of the cavern below. He walks across the bridge that moves over that lake. He looks down at it and keeps on walking. He is walking aimlessly, just staying in his own thoughts.

Ruby is not the only one with sleeping problems, his issues are deeper than hers. He is filled with regret, now that he knows that Pyrrha has been in love with him for so long, and the only time he ever accepted that fact and felt the same way, was when she died. He keeps Crocea Mors close, combined with the metal of Pyrrha's shield and the metal that remained from her snapped sword. But he continues to walk and walk, as he always does, that is why he trains. Because he feels as if he lets himself die to be with her...it would destroy everything she stood for.

But he misses her with every fibre of his being.

Jaune walks on and he sees an old poster on the wall. Pumpkin Pete's, with her face on it, that beautiful smile on her face. Emerald eyes so bright that they were like small stars, red hair so graceful that it would steal you. He looks at it and he holds his hand to the poster, seeing how much it has faded, but he still sees her beauty. A beauty that he was blind to, so blind he kept on trying to win the heart of Weiss Schnee, someone who was never going to be right for him. And he shunned her every time.

That is what hurts Jaune the most.

His tears begin to well in his eyes and he stammers. “Pyrrha...” He whispers, his voice cracking from the emotional torment that is coursing through his body right now. “I miss you so much...I'm so sorry I never opened my goddamn eyes.” Jaune sobs, crumpling to his knees. “I kept on pushing you away...how could I do that to you?” He cries. The tears drop from his eyes and into the soil as he sobs. His heart bleeds from the loss of this girl.

But then he turns when he hears a woman speak to him.

“Excuse me...” She says. He turns, looking at her. And for a split second he really did believe that it was her, that calm and loving voice. The red hair and the large emerald eyes. But the woman is older, maybe in her mid forties at most. She looks at Jaune, holding a basket with groceries in them. He stands up and wipes the tears from his eyes, walking past her.

“I'm sorry.” Jaune apologises.

Her eyes track him. “You're Jaune Arc...aren't you?” She asks, which makes Jaune stop and turn to the woman. He looks at her with bloodshot eyes due to his tears.

“How do you know my name?” He asks her.

She smiles gently, just like Pyrrha. “My name is Thara Nikos.” She says to him with a gentle smile. “I am Pyrrha's mother.” She says to Jaune. Jaune's grief becomes even stronger, because he feels responsible for not stopping her from marching off to her own death, or for saying that she should never let anything get in the way of her destiny. He may have said it to make her feel better, but that might have been one of the primary reasons behind why Pyrrha did what she did, to save his life, just like she did when they first met in the Emerald Forest, catching his hood with Miló. “She told me a lot about you whenever she called home.”

Jaune looks away. “I failed her.” He snarls with self-hate. Thara looks at him with affectionate eyes. Incredible how some of the smallest things are similar with her mother and Pyrrha, the same expressions and looks.

“No, she wouldn't have had it any other way. She loved you, Jaune.” Thara assures. But that does not make it any better, if anything it makes it hurt more for Jaune, that she died because she loved him, no one should have to die  _because_ they love somebody. They shouldn't have to die at all.

“I should have stopped her from going after Cinder, she was way out of her league.” Jaune argues with annoyance. Thara looks at him and then at the poster of her beautiful daughter on the wall. A tear is shed by her mother, but she wipes it aside.

“I will always be so proud of my little girl, I wish she could have grown old, but Remnant is a cruel place.” She tearfully speaks. She then looks back and then at Jaune. “Come with me, I would like to show you something.” Thara says to him.

Thara walks down the street and Jaune watches her leave, he walks to follow her but he pauses when he hears something. The sound of a young woman sobbing. He peers into an alleyway where the cries are coming from.

“Hello?” He calls, trying not to sound to intimidating.

“Jaune?” Thara calls. Jaune turns to her.

“Yeah, one sec.” Jaune says, looking in there. The cries have now silenced...mysteriously. And the feelings of sorrow are still there but fainter now. Jaune looks in and finds nothing. He sighs, walking back to Thara. Little does he know that there is someone there and it was not his imagination. A pale blue woman wearing a black dress, and a black veil over her face. She looks round the corner at Jaune as he walks away. But when Jaune looks over his shoulder at where he would clearly see her.

Nothing.

He continues to walk on, following Thara through the streets of Mistraalian people who are just going about their business. Thara guides Jaune towards a large mansion at the end of the road. And his eyes focus on the plaque on the fence. The Nikos Residence. His eyes widen, this is her home. He doesn't even feel like he should be allowed in there, since she passed, but then again, she wouldn't have it any other way.

Pyrrha would throw him through the doors if he said no, so he goes with Thara as she opens the door. He walks inside, seeing so many medals in cabinets and on the walls. Ones where she has graduated from Sanctum, their crowning achievement. He walks through and there is a photograph of her with a piece of writing on it.

It shows Pyrrha smiling gorgeously at the camera with her mother. _Heading off to Beacon Academy, wish me luck!_ It says written underneath her in red pen. Jaune smiles at this, seeing her smile is always a calming thing for him. His eyes examine this warrior's home, seeing the different armours in here, even ones that her parents must have used. One with a massive sword, similar in design to Milo.

Jaune looks over to Thara as she puts the basket down in the kitchen, bread and fruits inside. “Where's her father?” Jaune asks her. Thara looks at him with a smile.

“He passed away a few years ago, Jaune. Died fighting a Grimm, no one has seen that Grimm since, some think he took it down with him. I wouldn't be surprised, he never did go down without a fight.” She says, reminiscing. Jaune continues to admire this place, loving to imagine what Pyrrha would be doing in here.

“How many awards did she win?” He asks, sounding amazed. Thara even laughs at that.

“Around fifteen.” Thara says, with a giggle that is almost identical to that of her daughter. Thara presses her hand to her head. “She must have been thirteen or twelve when she won her first tournament.” Thara says.

Part of Jaune is proud of her, but after what Pyrrha said to him on the balcony, about what that kind of fame can do to someone, it also makes him feel for her. Since she must have had that kind of reputation for a majority of her childhood. And then he came along and was the only guy who treated her like an actual human being, like a person. Thara starts walking up the stairs, and Jaune follows her up, every step he takes echoes through the house.

He follows her when she takes a left, entering a room. Pyrrha's bedroom, left exactly as it was when she was last here. He looks inside, seeing her armour there and another pair of Milo and Akuou. But this version of her armour has a red cape behind it, polished golden metal plates and red robes in different sections.

But it is exactly the same as the one that she always wore. Jaune turns to Pyrrha's mother who looks at the armour and her weapons on display. “Why are you showing me this?” Jaune asks her.

Thara looks at him. “You loved her, in the end.” Thara says. Jaune looks away, trying to keep the saddened emotions at bay. “Didn't you?” She asks him. He looks at the floor, leaning against the wall of her room.

“Yeah...” He quietly says, looking at the markings on his shield.

“Then this all is here for you.” Thara says to him. “Pyrrha loved you with all her heart, she was always like a hamster on coffee whenever she spoke of you, her heart always filled with joy.” Thara explains, which probably just makes Jaune fell worse about himself. “She wouldn't want you to feel unwelcome here, because you made her feel like a person, instead of a symbol. Thank you.” Thara says to him. Jaune smiles.

“I just wish I wasn't so blind.” Jaune says, feeling guilty. Thara laughs a little.

“Well...she did say that she liked a challenge.” Thara says to him. Jaune looks at her, maybe feeling a little better.

A few more minutes pass until Jaune leaves the Nikos Estate. He walks out from the door and walks to the street. He exhales, his grief will never pass, but truly knowing how much he meant to her does fill his heart with warmth, despite his self-hatred.

He walks into the crowd, planning to return back to the others. But he stops when his senses start to go haywire. That feeling that someone is looking directly at you overcomes him and he looks over his shoulder at where he feels it. It sees the person and his eyes widen. He only sees him for a second, stood there and staring directly at him. Wearing some kind of armour and a helmet with glowing red eyes that are locked with his. A Faunus Person walks in front of Jaune, and when he passes, the figure is gone.

Like he was cut out from existence.

Jaune shudders from seeing that, wandering away from where it was.

Something is not right here at Mistral, not right at all.

 

**Ruby**

 

As agreed, in the morning...

They are ready to help Weiss change her identity.

She looks at Weiss, someone she never thought would actually be happy to see her. Yang walks up beside her. Ruby waits for Weiss to explain what she needs help with to Yang so then she is filled in on the situation. “What is it?” Yang asks her. Weiss sighs, placing her fingers to her forehead, shutting her eyes. The last thing that Weiss really wants is to involve people she cares about in a situation such as this. But she has no choice.

“I'm being hunted.” Weiss says to Yang, since she has already informed Ruby on these matters. Yang’s large lilac eyes widen in shock at those words. Knowing that Weiss is being hunted...that is something that they did not expect to hear.

“What?” Yang questions with widened eyes.

“My father has placed a price on my head. And I think on my sister's. I came here to find her and someone told me she was injured. Neptune saw just in time and he got me to safety. There are Mercenaries here who are trying to capture me.” Weiss explains.

“Explains the outfit and your hair – looks good on you, by the way.” Yang compliments with a smile, looking at her clothes, resting one hand on her hip.

“Thank you.” Weiss sweetly thanks, tilting her head as she flicks her long wavy hair. The Schnee Warrior looks at them and she nervously touches her white hair, still acting all paranoid, her eyes darting to anyone that she sees walking down the halls. Even though this should be a safe place.

“What do you need us to do?” Ruby asks her, now that the operation has begun. Weiss looks at Ruby, still so amazed that she is so quick to help. Even if it doesn't make sense why she wouldn't, it's Ruby after all.

“I need to find a contact called Sidewinder. Small guy apparently, I know a code that will let him know that I need to change my identity.” Weiss explains to the two sisters. Ruby looks up at Yang and the blonde smiles.

“We're in. We're still a team.” Yang says with a smile. Weiss' eyes widen in amazement at their instant cooperation.

“Don't count me out.” Neptune says, walking down the steps to them. Ruby and Yang look past Weiss to look at the blue haired hipster as he approaches them. His orange goggles pushed up so then he can see them with his sapphire blue eyes. Weiss pulls a small smile at how willing and devoted he is to her. Neptune looks at Yang and Ruby and he smiles. “Long time, no see.” He sarcastically says to them both, despite that dinner that they had last night.

“Morning, Neptune.” Ruby says to him with a nervous wave, as always. Yang crosses her arms and she smiles.

“Good to see up again, Nep.” She greets.

“Nep?” He asks, his eyes growing in size, he even grabs the collar of his new black and blue jacket when she says it. Weiss gives Yang a little look of jealousy, or even defensiveness, but Yang doesn't even notice. Weiss turns to him with a gentle smile. “Come on, let's go.” He says, holding his gun in his hands, blue dust charging through the centre of the circular rails inside.

Ruby turns, following Neptune as he walks down the steps. Weiss follows and then Yang follows as well. But when she walks, she hears something faint behind her, like a ghostly whisper. She turns sharply, her hair flinging behind her. Her large purple eyes squint when she sees something stood there.

It was only there for a moment, like some sort of...Reaper...Holding a Scythe in one hand with a grey hood and glowing gold eyes. But it vanished long after she saw it. The hairs stand up on her skin and she shudders a little from discomfort.

“Yang? You coming?” Ruby calls.

“Yeah, I'm coming.” Yang says, dismissing whatever she thought she saw as a hallucination. She jogs down the stairs to catch up with the others. Weiss grabs the hood of the hoodie that Neptune gave her. She pulls it over her hair and she keeps her head down. Instinctively, Neptune gets in front of her.

“What about Scarlet and Sage?” Weiss asks in a small whisper.

"They are gonna stay at the Academy, continue training and keep their eyes open for anything suspicious. Same with the others, keeping eyes peeled.” Neptune explains. “Might as well try and get most of Team RWBY back together.” Neptune says with a friendly smirk. Weiss smiles and they continue to walk.

“So what are we? Team R.W.N.Y?” Yang asks with a pinch of sarcasm.

“I like it.” Neptune chuckles. Yang looks at her only Ember Celica, since the other one that she had was lost at Beacon, left with her hand in the dining hall. She sighs as she walks, Ruby catches onto her emotions pretty fast.

“What's wrong?” Ruby asks Yang.

“Just...it still feels strange. Not having the other one.” She says. Ruby looks down a little while she walks, thinking about what happened. She wasn't there when Adam cut her arm off, only Blake was. She was told about how it happened, but not in great detail. That small oversight has been something that Ruby never considered at the time. She looks back to her sister who now looks at her metal arm. Unaware of the fact that Yang has just seen something.

She shudders again, a flash of red appears in her eyes and she shudders again, seeing the markings of Adam's mask once again. The whoosh of the blade when it cut her arm clean off. The pain that must have surged through her like a river of torment across her body. She then lowers the yellow and black arm, following after Weiss and Neptune as they are starting to lag behind. Ruby watches her sister, then she looks over her shoulder, feeling the same kind of feeling. The figure is now following her as well. She gasps and the sound she made catches Neptune and Weiss' attention. Yang turns around as well, seeing Ruby frozen in place.

“What is it?” Weiss asks her.

“I saw...” Ruby stammers, the hairs on her arms stand on end just like Yang's. The mysterious figure is now gone. Ruby shakes her head, groaning and pushing her palm to the side of her head. “Never mind, my mind's just playing tricks on me. Come on, let's go.” Ruby says, walking past them.

Weiss looks at Ruby and then she looks at Yang. “Is she okay?” Weiss asks her.

“I don't know. I only got here a few days ago, like you.” Yang says to her. They both look at Ruby as she walks down the corridor. “I think the Nuckelavee shook her up.” Yang says.

"Maybe...” Weiss presumes with a soft spoken voice.

Yang sighs, slamming her head into her palm. “I should have been there, I could have helped her. But I sat at home and I kept on moping.” Yang says, getting angry at herself. Weiss places her hand on Yang's shoulder, smiling.

“It's alright, you've suffered too. We all have.” Weiss says, her eyes looking at Yang from the shadows of the hood.

“Blake didn’t, yet she ditched us anyway.” Yang softly speaks with the sound of some kind of resentment in her voice. Weiss looks at her with a worried expression.

“You don’t know that.” Weiss defends, and they really don’t. They have no idea of what has happened at Menagerie, what that monster was that brought all that destruction to Kuo Kuana, that killed her parents so monstrously.

“No...but we could have if she had just stuck around.” Yang states coldly, walking ahead of Weiss. Weiss sighs, seeing that Yang clearly is still struggling from when Blake ran from them all.

_I hope she can forgive her...if she ever comes back._

Neptune looks across the corridor, seeing Ruby sat down on a stone step. She puts Crescent Rose down beside her and she rests her elbows on her knees, holding her head with her hands. Neptune turns back to Weiss.

“I'm gonna go check on Ruby.” Neptune says, walking over to her. Neptune walks over and he sits down beside her, crossing one leg over the other. “Ruby? Are you okay?” Neptune asks her. Ruby wipes the tear from her eye.

“Ruby...” A voice whispers in her head. Pyrrha's voice, not calling out for Jaune anymore. She is calling out her name.

“Whoa, whoa? What's up?” Neptune asks, not hearing the voice of Pyrrha in her head. Ruby looks at him, pushing a tear from her cheek.

“I failed her...I failed him.” Ruby snarls at herself.

“What are you talking about? You're not talking about Pyrrha, are you?” Neptune asks her, placing his hand on her shoulder.

“I promised Jaune that I would save her...stop her from fighting Cinder...” Ruby sniffles. “And now she's dead...because I took too long.” She says. Neptune wraps his arms around her, and Ruby hugs him in return.

“That wasn't your fault. There was nothing you could have done to save her. You did everything you could.” Neptune says to her.

“Did I? I could have gotten up there so much faster! And if Pyrrha were here...it should have been me.” She says.

“Don't think like that. Whatever happened on that tower...it was meant to be. Pyrrha wouldn't have it any other way, would she?” Neptune asks her with a smile. Ruby looks at him and smiles at her friend. “Come on, let's go find Sidewinder.” Neptune says, offering his hand to her so she can stand back up. Ruby holds his hand and picks up Crescent Rose in the other, standing back up to her feet. Neptune walks with her back to Weiss and Yang. They both look at her and then at Neptune. Ruby takes point.

“Is she okay?” Yang asks.

“I don't think so...” Neptune answers. “She still blames herself for what happened to Pyrrha. She was saying stuff like she wishes it was her instead.” Neptune reports. Yang and Weiss both look at Ruby as she stands there, roses floating from her cape as it blows in the wind. She looks down at the Mistraalian Market beneath them. She walks down the steps, holstering Crescent Rose to go down the steps.

Yang looks at her baby sister, and Weiss looks at the girl who was once so full of life, so hyperactive. Now she has become cold and very quiet instead. Weiss feels guilt overcome her for all the horrible things that she ever said to Ruby when they were younger, that poor innocent girl never deserved to be thrown into this terrible life. She was full of such joy...seeing her like this...it is a devastating sight. But Ruby is staying on task, and then they decide to follow her.

They walk down the steps into the Market, looking around. This place is perfect for Mercenaries to blend into the crowd. Neptune stops Yang and Ruby, since it is likely that they are not aware of the Mercenary Presence here.

The Acolytes of Lien.

“Ruby, Yang...” He whispers. “Keep an eye out for Mercenaries. They are likely to hide here. Look for the tattoo on their necks.” Neptune advises. Ruby and Yang nod, walking into the crowds of people with Weiss between them and Neptune. They walk through, Yang and Neptune being the tallest, they keep their eyes peeled for someone that looks like the contact that they are looking for. There are Mercenaries in here somewhere, that is the other thing that they need to keep their eyes open for. Ruby keeps her hand near Crescent Rose in case if this all goes south.

Weiss holds Myrtenaster tight, her large blue eyes dancing from person to person. Yang looks over some of the people, gently pushing through the crowds to make a path for them. She then sees someone that matches the description. A pretty small guy, skinny and is by a Merchant's Market, he is calling out to people. He has black hair and pale skin. Yang points at him to the others discretely and they nod. They slowly but surely approach him, using the crowd to hide from any Mercenaries.

Ruby looks around and she gasps slightly, seeing a Mercenary in the crowd. The Black and Red trench coats and golden accents here and there on it. Weiss gently laces her fingers across Neptune's actually holding his hand now. She looks up at him and smiles. Neptune smiles back.

Finally the crowd disperses and they get to the man. Yang turns to them with a smile. “Let me handle this.” Yang advises. She walks towards the man and she smirks. But when turning to the man, she puts on a totally different persona. She throws her head to the left to make her blonde hair fly around behind her like a sun. She looks right into the man's eyes with her large purple ones and she walks very seductively towards him.

He looks right at her and his eyes widen and mouth drops open in awe at this beautiful girl that approaches him with a beautiful smile on her face. Ruby looks at Weiss and the Schnee Huntress laughs a little. The man looks star struck when looking at the dazzling girl. “Excuse me...Are you Sidewinder?” Yang asks in a very well acted voice that speaks through to him on so many levels, most likely the feelings lower down on his body.

“Ye-Yes.” He stammers, unable to speak properly as he looks at her. She leans across the market stall with her arms crossed over it, looking up at him. Ruby giggles a little. Weiss turns to Neptune and sees he is just as star struck as Sidewinder. Weiss' expression changes to jealousy as she elbows him, making him snap out of it.

“Ow.” Neptune grunts softly, rubbing his arm. Weiss scoffs, looking back, jerking her head back over to the deal and she crosses her arms. The jerking movement of her head makes her hair be thrown across her face to the other side. She shuts her eyes, giving him the silent treatment. “Oh come on.” Neptune sighs.

“You've got me.” Weiss says with a scoff. When she says that, Ruby's head sharply turns and she looks at them both. Neptune and Weiss both look at her and then she realises what she said. “Not that we're together...together...” Weiss says awkwardly. Ruby's eyes widen more and more and she is about to squeak.

But then they look back at the conversation that Yang is having with Sidewinder. “I just wanted to tell you a story.” Yang says.

“About what?” He asks, still terrified by the beautiful girl.

“Tale of the White Ursa.” Yang says. By mentioning the two words: White Ursa...the man snaps out of this state of drooling that he is in right now. He looks around and then he nods to her. He gestures to a house behind him. Yang smiles and turns to the team. She winks at them and she follows him. Ruby, Weiss and Neptune follow Yang.

“What a woman...” Neptune says.

Weiss sharply turns her head to him. “You're better!” Neptune wisely replies.

“Wise...” Weiss says.

Ruby lowers her head sadly. “I wish I could do that.” Ruby says. Yang turns to her with a gasp.

“What? Nonsense.” Yang says. Yang puts her finger under the chin of Ruby, lifting her head up so she looks her in the eyes. “You are beautiful, sis. You just need to know it to use it like I just did. Number one rule about men, you show them what they want and they crumble.” She says with a smile.

And Neptune is a prime example of that. Weiss turns her head and stares at Neptune. “So it would seem.”

“Does that work with Kassius?” Ruby asks her. That question immediately shows a very rare shade to Yang that few have truly seen.

“Oh well...you know.” Yang nervously says, starting to blush. “He's...Kassius...” She says, sounding like her breath has just been yanked away from her. Yang blushes a little with an adorable smile on her face that makes Ruby happy to see the old Yang back.

“That's the Yang I remember!” Ruby squeals happily. Yang smiles to see a happy face on that little girl's face. She wraps her arm around her shoulders.

“I've missed you so much.” Yang says, resting her blonde head against her sister's black and red ones.

“Me too...” She strains, slowly being crushed by the strength in Yang’s arms. Yang finally releases her and Ruby gasps as she breathes again.

They both follow Weiss and Neptune into Sidewinders house that he holds the door open for them. The door closes behind them, locking shut. Sidewinder steps away from the door and he shuts the blinds when the four of them are inside. Neptune looks around, seeing old paintings on the walls and there is a bowl of cereal inside, sat on the table. It looks stale, like it has been there for a while now. Neptune steps away from him, repulsed by the horrible stuff. Sidewinder stops panicking and he leans against the wall. “Who needs their identity changed?” He asks.

Yang turns to Weiss and nods. Weiss walks over to the man, pulling her hood down to look at him. She moves a couple strands of white hair from her eyes and she looks at him. Yet again, he recognises her pretty fast. “Hello.” Weiss shyly greets.

“You're Weiss Schnee, what are you doing here?” Sidewinder asks.

“My father put a price on my head for my return back to Atlas. He will have me locked up for the rest of my life for turning against him. I don't want that.” Weiss explains. “How does it work?”

“I have a machine in the basement. You will have to use it to confirm your current identity. You then will change it however you see fit.” Sidewinder says. “I will keep an eye out for any visitors.” Ruby looks at him, and then she realises why he is called Sidewinder. He has scales instead of skin, they are pale beige and they overlap each other. Like a Sidewinder Rattlesnake.

He is a Faunus.

“You're a Faunus.” Ruby says. Sidewinder looks at her.

“Good eyes little one.” He says. “Go on, do what you need to do.” Sidewinder says. The door opens to the basement, the steps folding out as the door opens. Weiss looks at him and then she carefully walks down the stairs. Neptune goes with her, then Yang, then Ruby. They walk inside and the machine is inside.

Called White Ursa.

The machine is made up of almost twenty computer screens and multiple computers. Holographically projected screens as well.

“Mistraalians have this tech? Why do they seem to use more primitive stuff?” Weiss says in a confused voice. Weiss then looks at the computers. “It's Atlas Tech.” She says.

“Maybe he stole it.” Neptune suggests.

“Yeah...maybe...” Weiss says suspiciously. She sighs. “Okay, let's get this over with.” Weiss says. She starts typing into the key pad, her real name and then she puts her hand onto the bio-metric scanner on the table. The screens all are projecting the same image at once, a lot of information is on them. She starts typing in her new name.  _Willow Honeydew._ She starts to think of ideas for her past. Whilst she thinks away, the holographic projector behind them turns on, projecting an image.

A person.

“Weiss.” His voice greets, strong, cold and controlling. Weiss' eyes widen in fear, springing up from her chair and spinning round. She points the tip of Myrtenaster at him. Yang aims her only Ember Celica at him, pumping it. Ruby swings Crescent Rose into action, aiming through the scope of the weapon and Neptune aims his charged up rifle at the hologram.

He might be a hologram, but it seems very lifelike. The man has gray-white hair and a pale complexion. He has a large gray moustache, and his eyes are a cold blue colour. He is seen wearing a pure white double-breasted jacket with a red handkerchief in the breast pocket, underneath which he wears a blue shirt and vest and a gray-white tie, printed with the same emblem on his shoes. He has a silver-coloured ring on his right hand. He holds a glass of an alcoholic beverage, probably whiskey, in his hind, the ice cubes inside bounce off each other. His white moustache covers his lips, his white hair that has turned white from age, not from birth, and his light blue eyes are locked with Weiss'.

“Father...” Weiss snarls back.

“Mr Schnee, I presume?” Ruby guesses with sternness in her voice, aiming Crescent Rose at the hologram.

“Fascinating Culture, the Mistraalians, aren't they? Warriors that have existed for generations and generations, fighting off the Grimm Threat. They have had this kind of technology for more than twenty years, and what have they done with it?” He asks with a scoff.

Weiss lowers Myrtenaster since he is not really there. “What do you want?” Weiss grills, staring right at him. Jacques stares at her and he smirks.

“What I've always wanted...” Jacques says. “Ironwood is losing his way...I have had a change of heart towards the Huntsmen and Huntresses...I plan on bringing new direction.” Jacques says to Weiss.

“What?” Neptune questions.

“You've always hated that Winter chose Ironwood over you, why change?” Weiss hisses.

“Well...As Ironwood said, the Grimm threat is getting worse. That is bad for business.” Jacques says. As always, always caring more about his business and his dynasty rather than his own daughter and family. “There are scientists in Atlas, performing tests on the Grimm to find a way to control them. Imagine it...an army of Grimm...the amount of lives that could save?” Jacques says. Ruby and Weiss look at each other in confusion.

“What happened to simple Mining Operations?” Weiss questions.

“As I said...things change. I have had a change of heart, and I have decided that I do not wish to fall like the rest of the Huntsmen and Huntresses.” He explains.

“Yeah, we've heard about what the Schnee Dust Company have been doing under your supervision, Jacques, you have been treating the Faunus like monsters.” Yang says.

“Hardly...” Jacques scoffs. “They're being useful for once.” He says.

“Useful?” Weiss scoffs in disgust, thoughts of Blake coming to mind.

“That's what separates us, Weiss. Where you see a means to destroy the monsters of the world, I see a means to control them. To harness their abilities and use them for the greater good. Imagine what we could accomplish if we controlled  _the Grimm._ ” Jacques explains to them. Weiss steps back a little in horror when she hears what her father is saying, she has always hated him but she never expected this to come from him. Ruby scoffs.

“Beacon has fallen, Salem is planning something big, and you're hatching a scheme to control the Grimm?” Ruby interrogates in confusion.

“Ah...Ruby Rose...I have heard many things about you.” Jacques says with a menacing smile under his grey moustache. “The hyperactive and childish leader that Winter told me about. She admires you. I however...do not.” Jacques says coldly. Ruby squints her eyes angrily at the man. She always knew she would never like the man, but not as much as she does right at this very moment. “You Huntsmen and Huntresses, have always been short-sighted, hasty. And because of that the Grimm have grown even stronger, the Fall of Beacon proves that.” Jacques says, showing an image of Beacon Tower before it was destroyed by the Grimm Dragon that is still frozen on top of it.

“That was a plan hatched for years against us by our enemies, an army was sent for us.” Weiss argues. Jacques chuckles intensely.

“This isn't your fight any longer, Weiss. You can't defeat the Grimm, even if you band every single Huntsman and Huntress together.” Jacques says.

“You have always kept me under your control because you are afraid of me. Same as how you tried to control Winter and Mother. You know that I can help defeat them.” Weiss says to him.

“Doubtful, the odds aren't in your favour.” Jacques retorts, shaking his head, taking a swig of his beverage. "More importantly, I don't want the Grimm destroyed. We can dominate them, harness the very power that makes them what they are, and harness it into Dust form. Maybe even control the Creatures of Grimm themselves. And with that power, we can bring humanity to the apex of evolution, above the Faunus and beyond.” Jacques says to her, revealing his true colours and feelings towards the Faunus race.

“With the help of the Academies and Winter, we’ll help bring an end to those monsters once and for all.” Weiss says defiantly, staring at her father.

“Your vision is pathetically limited.” Jacques says. “You may have been my daughter at some point, Weiss, but your affair with the Huntsmen has made you become blind to the truth. It is a real shame that you must be hunted like your dear sister. And a further shame that you would choose to fall in love with a gallivanting fool like that Blue Haired boy at your side. At least your brother understands what the real course of action really is.” Jacques says to her. “But like the rest of the failures in the Schnee Dust Company, you must be swept from my board.” Jacques says.

“Enough of this, Neptune, can you shut him up?” Weiss asks. Neptune nods, walking over to the projector in the corner, fiddling with it. Jacques stares straight at Weiss.

“Do not interfere with my plans, Weiss, I won't warn you again.” Jacques threatens, pointing at her with his glass.

“Go to hell.” Weiss snarls.

She turns sharply however when the computer begins to power down. “Weiss! The information!” Yang calls. “It's...being erased.” Yang says with shock in her voice. The machine that was the only way that Weiss could hide from the world has just been erased completely. Jacques smirks villainous at their panic.

“Got it!” Neptune cheers, ripping the cable from the projector. The projection of Jacques Schnee comes apart, disappearing without a trace.

 

**Jacques**

 

At Atlas, Jacques walks over to his table, sitting down in his seat. Whitley is stood inside as well, his arms are crossed as he looks at where the hologram of Weiss once stood. Jacques clasps his hands together over his table, looking at where she once stood.

“Goodbye, Weiss...” Jacques says, sounding final.

 

**Weiss**

 

Weiss presses her hands to her head. “No!” She screams in anger. “No! No! Goddammit!” She cries out in anger, throwing Myrtenaster straight into one of the monitors, the blade slams straight through it, sparks erupting from the shattered screen. Bits of glass falling from the screen and onto the floor.

“Come on, Weiss. We need to get out of here.” Neptune says, touching her shoulder. Weiss hyperventilates.

“He will always have control over my life...even when I have left him behind.” She says in anger. “When will this damn nightmare end?”

“Not if we find and stop Salem. Then we can all wake up.” Ruby says. The other three all look at her when she brings up Salem.

“Who?” Yang asks her.

“Qrow can tell you all everything that he told us when we get back.” Ruby assures. “Come on, let's get out of this place.”

 

**Blake**

 

The ship finally arrives at the docks of Mistral. The ramp folds out from the body of the massive vessel.

Sun and Blake walk out from the doors. Sun has his arm around her, holding the broken Faunus close. She is still destroyed from what she saw. She looks up at the beautiful city of Mistral. Sun looks at her. “Hey...we made it.” Sun says kindly to her. She smiles a little but she leans her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes once again, a tear leaking from them. He helps her walk into the city. The captain of the ship stands there, watching them leave the ship, entering Mistral. The clouds have parted in the skies, the vapour from the waterfall drifts away from the two massive mountains that hold the academy. Blake keeps her hand on the hilt of Gambol shroud and Sun holds Ruyi Jingu Bang in his other hand.

And all that channels through their thoughts is the monster that destroyed Menagerie. The fire being that arrived with an Army of Grimm behind it, wiping out the entire village, leaving no one else behind but them two and the Captain and his crew. “Where do we go, Sun?” Blake asks him quietly.

Sun turns to her.

“We find Neptune and the others. I know that they are here somewhere.” Sun says. “I did promise them that I would return, remember?” Sun says, exhaling. “We have a lot to talk about.”

 

 


	10. The Fable of the Four Knights

**Sun**

Hours before her arrival...

The large personnel carrier floats across the ocean, days have passed now since the complete destruction of Kuo Kuana. It is unknown if there were any survivors from the town, and no footage was released of the entity that lead the assault there that day. The only ones that really saw it were Blake and Sun, and the Captain of the boat merely got a glimpse of the monster when it spoke.

A voice that would give anybody nightmares.

_Kill them all..._

That is what that monstrosity bellowed from the burning remnants of the place that Blake once called home. She is still shell shocked even now, not as seriously as she was a few days ago, but she is still extremely shocked. Her arms wrapped around her knees as she sits there on the sofa with Sun across the room from her. There are very few people on this ship, only a couple of people that were on the docks managed to get aboard, mostly the crew got onboard. Sun turns his head to look at Blake, concerned for how she is feeling.

But how do you begin a conversation with somebody who just watched their mother and father be murdered in front of them?

He sighs, prepared for whatever barrage of angered comments she may throw his way due to how he had to pull her away from the corpse of her father to save her life. She has every reason to be mad at him, something he believes wholeheartedly. Finally – Sun speaks to her. “Blake...I’m not gonna ask how you’re feeling, because I know. So...do you want me to get you anything?” Sun asks her with a gently spoken voice, looking over at the black haired Faunus Huntress.

Blake slowly lifts her head, and her eyes are still wet with tears, and the way she looks at him he can tell that she just wants his comfort. Immediately he springs up from where he was sat, and he approaches her, sitting down beside her on the couch, putting his arm round her shoulders and holding her close, she buries her head into his chest. Then she lets her tears stream from her eyes, sobbing with torment as she remains in his warm embrace. Sun affectionately caresses her long black hair with his hand, his tail curled up around her just so then she can feel safe.

He does not often show his comforting side to people, but whenever he does, he truly means it.

“They’re all gone, Sun...Everything I ran from Beacon, from Yang and Ruby...it’s all gone...” She cries, trying to catch her breath amongst the many tears down her cheeks and from her eyes. The makeup that she once wore has been smudged with the tears, but she is not about to care or complain.

That would take the phrase – _out of taste_ – to a whole new low.

Sun remains there, still quite silent because of the memories that their deaths had resurfaced, so many things pulsate in the back of his mind.

_I never even got to know them..._

_To make Ghira believe in me..._

_I should have saved them..._

But as he always has done, he pushes those negative thoughts back into his mind, letting them dwell and eat away at the back of his mind and his memories. He just lets out an exhale as he comforts the girl he loves with all his heart. “What kind of Huntress am I if I cannot save the people I love?” She sniffles, Sun looks down at her and he lifts her head with his thumb so then she gazes upon his blue eyes.

“Hey, now you listen to me. Don’t ever blame yourself for what happened there, okay? Whatever that thing was that lead the Grimm, that is what did this.” Sun explains to her, but as stubborn as ever she shakes her head. Blake Belladonna, so determined to take the blame for something she did not do, but unwilling to let others do the same thing.

Then again, so is Sun.

“No Sun, you don’t understand. If I can’t save them then what good am I?” Blake questions, voice cracking, then Sun speaks.

“I failed too...” He reminds her, and she stops at that point. Her thoughts seem to become clearer, the storm of ravaged sorrow and emotions seems to fade away as soon as those words leave his lips. It opens a veil of realisation to her, and she slowly turns and looks at him, remembering what he told her about his parents. About Hazel Rainart and what he did to the people he cared so deeply for. “I could have saved my mom and dad, but I didn’t, I failed and they are gone...but that doesn’t make me a failure.” Sun explains to her.

He sits up upright and swivels round with his legs crossed on the cough, then holding both her firm hands with his own, feeling the delicate smooth skin of them in his hands. He ever so gently rubs his thumb across the back of her hands as she gets her to listen to what he has to say. “We have both had major slip ups, I failed my parents, Yang lost her arm, and I couldn’t help you fight Adam...” Sun explains, looking her in the eyes now.

“But we never let these slip-ups define us, we learn from our failings so then it doesn’t happen again.” Sun explains with a kind smile on his face, reaching up to her face to gently cup the cheek. She does something that he has never seen before, she ever so sweetly and openly pushes her cheek into the warmth of his palm and closes her eyes with such trust beating in her heart.

Her eyes slowly open, and Sun’s heart begins to beat uncontrollably fast from the sensations he is feeling, he has always had a massive crush on her, and to see her looking at him in that way is...well...not what he expected. He expected it to be angel-like, somehow it is goddess like.

One day he will be able to predict correctly.

But until then, the two of them slowly but gently bump their heads together, holding each other close and feeling the trust that seems to latch the pair together. “I don’t know what I’d do without you, Sun...” Blake tenderly says to him, looking into his eyes, and Sun chuckles.

“Saving the day as usual – a little less stylishly of course.” Sun states with a cocky smirk, leaning back into the sofa which makes Blake giggle and smile, something that is enough to make him happy. Especially after everything that has happened. Blake still finds the urge to lean up to him, her hand ever so close to his one, resting her head on his shoulder as they both look out the window.

Then her question arises.

“Where do you think they are, Sun?” Blake asks him, he raises a brow and looks at her.

“Who?” He inquires.

“Ruby...Weiss...Y-Yang...” Blake asks him, her voice cracks when she says Yang’s name, still remembering how horrifying it was to see Adam cutting her arm from her elbow like that in the Battle for Beacon.

The Battle they lost.

So Sun decides to give her an answer at the best of his knowledge. “Well, the last I heard of Weiss she was taken back to Atlas by her father, so unless she got out I doubt we’ll be seeing her in Mistral. Yang was still broken from losing her arm, but I heard that Ruby could have been headed to Mistral.” Sun explains, clearly was kept in the loop for a while before he went after Blake to find out whatever it was that she was up to. Blake looks down and she cannot help but smile, still admiring that young girl’s tenacity and bravery.

“Of course she is...never could stay down could she?” Blake laughs with awe at her bravery, perhaps braver than the three of them combined, and she is only two years younger than them.

“Nope, she really couldn’t could she?” Sun agrees with a chuckle. “Remember all the times she would make jokes even when in a life-or-death situation?” Sun asks her, and Blake’s mind immediately goes to her sense of humour when on the trip to Mountain Glenn. She kept making so many jokes with her sister and even finding ways to lighten the mood even in the darkest of times.

“When I first met her, I always knew there was something special about her. Stubborn but special.” Blake says, Sun turns to look at her since he was not at Beacon at that time.

“How so?” Sun inquires.

“Well, when I first met the three of them, I was still trying to blend in. Reading books and not talking to anybody, that’s when Ruby came along. I saw her earlier being berated by Weiss over some dust crystals, but she first spoke to me the night after. She was always so certain that she – well all of us – could make the world a better place.” Blake explains, she cannot get the words she said out of her head.

_I want to be the heroes I read about in the books._

A childish thought, yet she is still heading towards that goal with such maturity and bravery. “Maybe we can find Ruby there, if she made it.” Sun hopes.

“Hopefully Jaune, Nora and Ren as well.” Blake says, still sombrely thinking about Jaune and what he lost that day when Beacon fell.

“Poor guy...” Sun sighs, they may not have interacted much before but he still gave a damn about the fool.

“I know.” Blake sighs, they all could see what was going on between the two of them. At first it was hair tearingly frustrating at how Jaune would not see the truth, but later on it was clear that the feelings were starting to reflect on both.

Before they can discuss their thoughts on the matter any further, their attention is caught by something that both of them notice from the window. What appears to be structures in the distance, yet they are still hours away from the docks of Mistral, and even then it would be a hell of a journey to get there from the shores. Sun and Blake both stand up with confusion to walk outside into the fresh air to stare at what is approaching.

Blake does not recognise it, but Sun does – he lives in Mistral after all. The structures are not modern, they are ancient and abandoned, perhaps from the same era as the relics of the Emerald Forest and Forever Fall. And there is a deep river that goes right through it and into the mainland of Anima. Sun spins round to look at the captain who is aiming through a spyglass. “You’re taking us through Ephai?” Sun asks with confusion, staring straight at the Captain, who glances down at him.

“Quickest way to Mistral, as you said we need to warn the Headmaster of what happened there.” The Captain replies, Blake turns and looks at Sun with confusion.

“Ephai?” She asks.

“It’s an ancient abandoned city, a bit like the ones in Vale but this one is huge in comparison.” Sun explains.

“And holds lots of nasty Grimm.” The Captain adds, since that is what he is keeping an eye out for in the old city. They have no other choice, this is the quickest route into the city, now they need to take it to get to Lionheart.

The large ship clearly was not designed to go through a river quite like this,  but they’ve no other choice. It slowly passes through, breaking branches out of its way so then it can get through there with ease. Blake keeps her quivering hand close to Gambol Shroud in case of a Grimm Surprise Attack from the buildings. There are hundreds of them, and they are relatively intact as well. Some of them are gigantic, there are multiple near collapsed Pyramids around them as well with moss and erosion covering them.

The howling wind travels through every crevice in the buildings, and Blake cannot help but admire them all. “I’ve never seen anything like this...” Blake softly says as she looks around at the city.

“I know, I’ve only heard stories about this place. It’s much bigger than I thought.” Sun says, pacing back and forth on the deck to look around. He peers over the railing to see the sloshing water beneath and countless fish and underwater flora coexisting peacefully. Yet waiting for an amphibious Grimm to attack from out of nowhere, but there’s nothing so far.

“What happened?” Blake wonders as she stares at the architecture.

“My guess? Grimm...there aren’t any walls around the city. I doubt they stood a chance.” Sun explains, which sends a shiver down both their spines at the mere idea of such an event happening. Massacred by Grimm without any defences, the only possible defence could be the river that all these broken bridges once crossed. Some are drawbridges which have been left upright for a long time.

Ghost Cities are always have a creepy feeling, like hundreds of ghosts are staring at you all the time, and the silence of this swampy city really does not help that feeling.

“I guess we have learned a thing or two from our past.” Blake sighs.

 

**Yang**

 

Hours later...

Weiss has not been handling the loss of her future very well, she has been sat down with her head pressed against her hand, staring at the flames. She sits there with Ruby next to her, and Kassius with his arms crossed, Jaune also there with Crocea Mors on his lap. “So that was her father...I had a feeling he was an asshole...but I never suspected that.” Yang sighs, feeling for her close friend greatly.

“I know, it answers a lot though.” Ruby quietly admits.

“What do you mean?” Yang asks her.

“The way she acted when we first met her, she was very...cold...and bitter, maybe it was because of her dad.” Ruby suggests with the shrug of her shoulders, not like she could ever understand what she must have been though. Their father has always been loving and kind.

He is anything but.

However before they can ponder any further...

“Yang!” Neptune calls from the halls.

“Yeah?” Yang replies, peeking through the doorway, Ruby walking right behind her. Then they both stop, and their hearts almost stop for a full second.

Their eyes widen in shock.

Blake and Sun are stood there and Blake looks right at her old friend. They clearly made it through Ephai unscathed, perhaps the Grimm never decided to venture out. Yang walks out and Kassius stops as he walks down the hall. He looks back and he sees Sun and Blake stood there. He walks back over to Yang's side. “Sun?” Kassius directs in a surprised tone of voice.

“Hey, Kassius.” Sun greets in return. Yang looks at Blake, seeing her leaning against him with sorrowful eyes. But for a reason that the two of them understand, yet Sun finds it extremely disrespectful of her. Yang turns and she walks away from the two of them, and Sun stares at her as she storms off. Her hand quivers faintly as she walks away from them both, flashes of Adam’s face flicker in her mind.

Sun’s eyes narrow with anger as he watches Yang leave her behind.

He knows that they have issues...

But that is unacceptable.

Ruby on the other hand, walks straight over to Blake and immediately hugs her.

“Why did you go?” Ruby sniffles.

Blake sniffles as well, but not for the same reason.

Ruby then turns her attention to Sun, seeing the cuts and the silt on him. Black ash brushed across his cheeks and the same on Blake’s as well. “What's going on?” She asks with heightened concern in her voice, and Kassius has not even uttered word, he just looks shocked, also looking back at Yang as she walks away.

Sun is the one to answer instead of Blake, sparing her.

“We need to talk.”

 

Ruby and Kassius spent time getting everyone together. Team R.W.B.Y have finally been reunited and yet Yang is not even in the room, Jaune, Nora and Ren sit there as well. Along with Team S.S.S.N and Qrow, who has also brought Oscar with him. Qrow knows that Team R.N.J.R have been fully informed on the whole – _Ozpin Situation_ – but the rest of them have not. Qrow sits down, setting his sword down before his feet as he crosses them.

Oscar looks at all of the teams as they have finally been reunited, just under terrible circumstances. “Hello.” Oscar nervously says, looking over at Blake who looks at him curiously since she does not recognise him.

“Hi.” Blake says with a nervous smile on her face, being as friendly as ever. The same reunion emotions have been expressed around Blake that have been seen with the others, tears and happiness. But Blake is still filled with Grief, the grief of a parentless child.

“Everyone, this is Oscar Pine. He is a new addition to our group.” Qrow introduces. “It's a little...confusing.” He says.

“You've told us bigger things.” Jaune reminds him, still coming to terms over the Maidens and the Brothers.

“Uhh...the what?” Scarlet inquires with confusion.

“This makes that look like child's play, even I don't get half of this.” Qrow says, which shocks all of them.

“Hello? Give me something!” Scarlet begs in a raised voice.

“Later...” Qrow sighs.

“Well...try and sum it up.” Kassius suggests, with his arms crossed as he stands behind the chair where Ruby is sat. Ruby has an expression on her face that shows that she is deeply concerned for her big sister.

Qrow looks at Oscar and Oscar looks to the side.

“It's okay, we can trust them.” The voice of Ozpin says to him.

“How do you know? They all seemed to have come from nowhere.” Oscar mutters in his subconscious.

“Team S.S.S.N may be a foolish bunch, but they are trustworthy fighters. And the other girls are the rest of Ruby’s team. They can definitely be trusted.” Ozpin assures, then Oscar looks at Kassius who remains stood up.

“And Kassius?” Oscar asks him.

Ozpin never really met him, he has heard some stories about him and his team, but never met him in person. But he knows that Lionheart trusted him, so that will have to be enough. “Lionheart spoke highly of him, and Yang trusts him. Let’s hope he is worthy of the trust.” Ozpin states, in which Oscar sighs, before looking to Qrow.

Oscar nods. “Alright...buckle in.” Qrow says to them, leaning forward. “Ozpin is in his head.” Qrow says to them all.

The Huntsmen and Huntresses who have not been informed on this look at him with a jolt of shock across them. “Told you.” He says. Ruby, Jaune, Ren and Nora all look at Oscar with a chuckle, seeing their reactions.

“Is that what we looked like?” Nora asks Qrow curiously.

“Pretty much.” Qrow answers with a shrug.

“Huh?” Sage questions in a bewildered tone.

“He says that our auras are combined. I don't know how or why, it started with nightmares and then he wouldn't shut up.” Oscar says, probably to make a stab at Ozpin.

“My apologies.” Ozpin says in his head, obviously no one else can hear Ozpin speaking to him. Jaune leans back in the chair that he is sat in, looking at Oscar, and from the look in his eyes, he still does not seem to trust him. Yet he still wants everyone to hear what he has to say about what happened on Beacon Tower.

Sun remains sat down beside Blake, but his eyes are on the partially open door to the room he watched Yang walk away into, and his hand is twitching with anger. Eyelid jittering with a form of resentment that he wants cured as soon as possible. Sun pushes his palms to his knees as he stands up, and he walks towards that room, but Blake catches his arm to hold him back. “Sun...Where are you going?” She asks him softly as Oscar speaks to them all about the situation that they all face.

Sun’s eyes slowly pan over to the room and he sighs. “Just gonna have a chat with Yang.” Sun answers, looking back at her and he just nods. Blake sighs, slowly releasing him so then he can go after her.

Sun approaches the door, and knocks on the wooden panel upon it, Yang is sat there with her legs crossed on the bed, not looking at the door, but listening to what Oscar is saying in the other room. She turns and before she can even speak, Sun just pushes the door open and walks right inside, staring at her with anger that Yang has never seen before. “Sun...What do you want?” Yang questions, with a voice sterner than usual, Sun scoffs at her, almost with disgust.

“What the hell is wrong with you, Yang?” Sun questions with that disdain very clear in his vocal chords as he closes the door behind him, stood right across the room from her. Yang stands up from her bed, staring him right in the eyes with squinted lilac eyes. Her cybernetic hand clenches into a fist as she glares at him, she has never really been overly fond of the Monkey Man, because he always struck her as a hot headed fool.

But this is a side to him that nobody has seen before.

“What’s wrong with _me_?” Yang questions with a sharpened intake of breath, placing her hand to her chest, still not breaking eye contact with him. Then she swiftly raises her cybernetic arm up, showing the scar where the red blade of Wilt and Blush sliced her arm clean off. “Take a good long look, Sun. That dude, Adam Taurus did that to me. Her Ex, she told us about him in Mountain Glenn. And then she ran, when I needed her most.” Yang states with tears welling up in her eyes.

Sun stares at the arm, but he feels only more anger and disgust at her, she may not know but that does not even matter to him anymore. “You selfish bitch....” Sun snarls at her with enraged eyes, and she raises her brows and scoffs.

“What did you just call me?” Yang challenges, until Sun suddenly pins her to the wall with his forearm and stares straight into her eyes with gritted teeth. She would be lying if she said that it didn’t scare her to see Sun acting in such a way. He has always been so jokey, and now he is being anything but.

“Don’t you get it yet?” He growls with anger.

Then he drops the bomb on her.

“Her mom and dad were murdered right in front of her, only a couple of days ago. And you wanna claim you have it tough? At least you have a replacement for your arm, Yang – she has nothing to replace her parents.” Sun snarls with gritted teeth, not only is he speaking about Blake, but also about himself and his own suffering as well. Everything that he lost that day from Hazel Rainart was something that he can understand to Blake right now.

Yang stares right back, and her fist loosens and her scowl transforms into a sorrowful expression. “W-What?” Yang stammers.

“You think she ran from you? Did you not hear what Adam said to her? He threatened he would kill everyone she loves, and that is why he attacked you. Because that prick is jealous, she ran because she did not want to risk him coming after you.” Sun explains, but Yang being her defiant self, she pushes him away forcefully.

“I can handle myself!” Yang argues, but Sun scoffs as he looks at her arm.

“Yeah...sure you can.” He sarcastically states, and his words stab deep into her. “Hate me if you want, but I am here for Blake. No matter what happens to me.” Sun states, turning to walk away from her and back into the room.

Yang stands there, then she sighs, following him back into the room.

Blake sits there with her arms around her legs as Oscar concludes the explanation of what happened to Pyrrha and the Fall Maiden that night.

Oscar takes a seat after that and then Qrow looks at Blake. “Blake, it's good to see you again. But why did you call us all here?” Qrow asks.

“Yeah...I didn't expect you to call us either.” Scarlet says, crossing one leg over the other. Sun looks at him and Sage.

“We were at Menagerie.” Sun begins for her, since she is still hurt. “The Faunus Sanctuary, it was all fine. We bumped into a couple of White Fang here and there. One got a good hit on me.” Sun says, pulling his shirt open a bit to show the bandage underneath where he was hit. “Blake saw her parents again to get some closure and we ended up starting a revolution of our own against the White Fang, to bring the old one back.” Sun explains to them all. Weiss puts her mug of tea down onto the tray and she crosses one leg over the other. “But...”

“What?” Ren asks, looking at them.

“The Grimm came.” Blake says, finally speaking up.

They all look at Blake, hearing the pain in the tone of her voice. “They came out of nowhere, it was a peaceful night at one point...then in a second it was chaos. Didn't actually realise it was Grimm at first.” Blake says to them all.

Ruby listens intently, since she has been out here and has faced the Grimm. From the Geist to the Nuckelavee. But she has no idea for what is about to be explained to them. “The defences were completely annihilated, like Beacon all over again. They were slaughtering people, more aggressive than normal. And that's when I saw it.” Blake begins, remembering what the fiery monster looked like.

“What did you see?” Qrow asks.

“I don't know...it was human like, covered in flames. Cracked, with lava inside of its body. It was terrifying, like something you'd hear in a children's book. Like the devil.” She begins.

Kassius sits there, listening intently, and then his eyes look down at the floor, Yang looks at him, sat beside him as he stares endlessly at the floor as she describes this thing. “It killed my father...and my mother...right in front of me. It killed everyone; we only escaped by the skin of our teeth when he came after us.” Blake explains.

"Menagerie is now completely destroyed."

"Oh my god...Blake..." Weiss gasps compassionately for her, hearing that she has just lost her parents, but still from fear of what did that. Everyone converses about what this thing is. Even Qrow and Ozpin don't know what this thing is. But amidst all this confusion, Kassius slowly lifts his head up.

“Have you told Lionheart?” Qrow asks him.

“No, we were going to...but we were so tired we said we should find Neptune, Scarlet and Sage. I have to admit...I didn’t expect to see all of you guys here.” Sun explains to them all. Neptune chuckles.

“Yeah, you know how it is. Always partying.” Neptune chuckles.

“We’ll make sure we tell him tomorrow.” Sun assures, but Qrow raises his finger.

“No, not yet. It’s good you came to us first...” Qrow states.

“Why?” Sun nervously asks, then Oscar speaks, sounding like Ozpin once more.

“It appears at the moment that Lionheart is acting rather strangely, disobeying specific instructions Ozpin left. It’s possible he works for our common enemy.” Oscar explains to them both.

“And who is our common enemy, may I ask?” Blake inquires with her soft voice.

“Salem.” Oscar answers, and those who’ve not been informed look quite fearful of the name.

“Who?” Yang asks with concern.

“We don’t know her origin, but she leads the Grimm. She is a powerful being that is hunting four powerful Relics and the Seasonal Maidens, so then she can destroy everything we know and love.” Oscar sums up, leaving them all shocked and horrified.

“Wait what?” Sage questions with shock and awe on his face.

“We can go into further detail later, however this...entity you encountered...” Ruby says to them with curiosity and concern.

“I don't know what this is, I've never heard of it.” Qrow states.

“I have.” Kassius reveals.

Everyone turns to look at him and he looks at his cybernetic hand. “They are not something that many people know about, because nearly none have survived to tell the tale.” He explains. “But there are stories about them.” Kassius begins, pulling everyone's attention in. Oscar listens to Ozpin's voice in his head.

“Do you know?” Oscar subconsciously asks.

There is a pause before his answer, a disturbingly long pause as well. “No.” Ozpin says. Oscar shudders when he says that, finding out that the wise Ozpin has finally realised that he does not know everything that there is to know about Remnant.

“Them?” Blake asks, sounding scared.

Kassius looks at them all.

“Have you ever heard the Fable of the Knights of Grimm?”

 

**Kassius**

He begins his explanation to them all. “They have existed for centuries, maybe millennia, few know much about them. I am one of the few.” Kassius begins as he remembers, looking at his cybernetic palm. “The one you saw, Blake?” He starts off. Blake leans forward. “That was Fury.” He says.

“Fury?” Blake asks.

“The Knight of Fury, yes.” He says. “The Knights of Grimm are said to be the four representations of what makes the Grimm what they are. They are the form of the very things that attract them.” He explains.

Fury, a tall fire forged monster fuelled just by rage all of the time that uses a Berserker's Axes in combat. Fire glowing everywhere and magma built up underneath his charred body that is not constantly on fire. “They all can speak fluent Human Language, but it is harder for Fury because he is always angry, making his dialect quite...harsh and brutish, just like his personality. His very presence makes you become a little bit angrier, but he can send you into animalistic rage if he roars.” Kassius explains.

“Then you have Loss...a female form of Grimm, one that looks just like a human woman, but she has pale blue skin and is always crying. She is very dangerous because she can just cripple her foes into submission by showing them their lost loved ones or just by making them suffer.” He explains to them all.

Tall, pale blue skin with widow’s clothes covering her body. Glowing blue eyes that have tears constantly falling from them and she brings dread wherever she goes. Jaune actually experienced her effects when he saw the poster of Pyrrha; she was the crying woman in the alleyway that he did not see staring at her when he was walking away. She was watching him the whole time, and she carries a bow with her at all times, able to kill from a distance if she must.

“Then you have Fear...” Kassius introduces. “The most terrifying of the bunch, makes your hairs stand on end when he is close and gives you Goosebumps. I was hunting Fear here because I felt his presence. Lionheart asked me to track him down, and that is how I ended up at that Motel. After finding evidence of another mission he gave me. He was in the forest, wears a grey cloak and hood, and he carries an old scythe and a crossbow that explodes into clouds of fear toxin. He can show you all your worst fears, fears that exist down to your very core.” Kassius explains to them all.

Fear is made up of a rotten body with glowing gold eyes, and as he said, he wears a dark grey cloak and hood around his body; he has razor sharp teeth and long clawed fingers that makes him look even more terrifying.

“Each one has served the Grimm for generations, and very few have ever survived them. But they have not been seen since the end of the Great War at Vytal, some believe that they came together there and could have been responsible.” Kassius explains. The Knights of Grimm are a new threat that are unlike anything that the young Huntsmen and Huntresses have ever seen before, and they are pure nightmare fuel, like the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse or the Wild Hunt.

“How do we kill them?” Blake snarls in anger, mainly wanting to kill Fury for what he did to Kali and Ghira.

“No one knows.” Kassius says.

“How's that possible?” Qrow questions.

“Their forms have been destroyed countless times from endured combat, but they always return. Nobody truly knows how to actually kill the Knights of Grimm, only how to keep them at bay.” Kassius explains. “The best option if you ever meet one? You run...as far and as fast as you can.” He advises. “Because they will kill you, not like our other enemies that they have ever faced, they will not hesitate. They are merciless.” He warns. Ruby shudders from the fear of the thought of facing these things now.

“Wait...” Nora says, sounding confused. “You said that there were Four Knights...Fury, Fear and Loss...who is the Fourth?” Nora asks.

Kassius pauses, sat there, he closes his eyes and he remembers back to when he was on the ground, bleeding out. Blood pooling out across his entire body on the soil. He looks at the dead bodies of his team, of Vetra whose eyes are staring straight at him, but her body is dead as she lies there. He whimpers on the ground, accepting his fate.

“There was a time...when I was gonna die.” Kassius says, still looking at his cybernetic arm. “I accepted it for the first time in my life...and that's when he appeared.” Kassius says.

In the flashback, he looks over at the darkness, seeing a blast of shadows nearby. Something emerges from the portal of shadows that has transported him here. He walks out, towards him. Each step causes the plants to die around him, and the bodies of his team decay at a faster rate when he passes. He watches as Vetra's body decays away into a skeleton as he approaches.

Chills channel up his dying body and he looks up at the dark...shadowy figure. He shudders when he sees the glowing red eyes that are locked with his. “His name is Death...” Kassius answers. The monster glares straight at him, the sharp metal plates connecting together by dark shadows that create the Grimm themselves, the darkness creates him. The plates slide away, floating around his head, connected by plumes of smoke around his head. The plates move and they reveal the face inside.

The face is a burning skull, fire burning around the edges and the flames leak through the eyes and from its mouth. The skull growls at him, and Death reaches his hand out towards him, shadows surrounding the armoured form. “Death was about to claim me...and then the Mistraalian Knights arrived and they saved me.” Kassius says. Death turns sharply, the metal plates sliding away from where they once hung, connecting together in front of the skull, and concealing it from the world. He stands tall, his cape of smoke blowing in the wind and he holds his sword made from the shadows in his hand. The Knights stop in horror when they see Death, locking eye contact with him.

Death creates a terrifying demonic laugh from inside the mask, and he turns away from them. The smoke carries and his form completely disappears into the smoke, and then the smoke fades.

And Death is gone, leaving the Knights terrifies of what they just saw. “I am one the only men and women to have seen Death and survive in this generation, because the Mistraalian Knights saw me before Death could have absorbed my aura, which would have disintegrated my form.” Kassius explains to them all, returning back to reality. They all look at him with terrified eyes.

“The Four Knights of Grimm: Death, Fear, Loss and Fury. Humanity has the Four Maidens, the Grimm have the Four Knights.” Kassius explains to them.

“You were hunting one of them when you found me?" Yang asks him.

“Yeah...I was looking for Fear, I saw him in the woods and I even fought him. I managed to destroy him...but he came back the next day. I have been reading the Fable of the Four Knights ever since my encounter with Death, and I remember it word by word.” Kassius explains. “Then I found evidence of the Acolytes of Lien in Mistral, so I had to report that to Lionheart.”

“Does he know about Fear?” Oscar asks.

“Yes.” Kassius answers, since he did not know about the issues that surround the man.

Ruby looks at the fire in fear, realising that there are these things all along...and they are real. Weiss grabs Neptune's hand in fear and Blake does the same, leaning up against Sun. Sun wraps his arm around her, pressing his head to the side of hers gently. “What do we do?” Ruby asks him. Kassius looks at Ruby.

“I don't know...but if Fury was at Menagerie in force, then that means that the time is coming.” Kassius says to them all. “The Day the Moon watches us die.” He says, “It is a line from the Book I read about them.”

“There's a story?” Jaune asks in a surprised voice.

“Yes, but it is very old." Kassius says. "I can try and re-tell it if you like.” He says.

“Please...do.” Qrow requests.

 

Kassius begins to recite the Fable of the Four Knights, as he has remembered it for all these years after he first read it as a child, after seeing Death in person, he has read it time and time again, to pick anything he can from the text to help find them. “In the Ancient Times, before the Great War...there were once four Knights who were out on patrol on the island of Solitude.” Kassius begins, narrating.

“They would fight anything that would dare challenge them, from Beowulf to Ursa to even a Death Stalker. Together...nothing could defeat them.” Kassius narrates.

“Until, when they follow the winding cobblestone road, they discovered a collapsed bridge over a rapid river. And thus, the dark spirit of the Brother of Darkness formed before them.” Kassius explains.

The Brother of Darkness...he was the one that created the Grimm in the Tale of the Two Brothers. “Jealous of their unstoppable nature, he would have acted as one more block for them if he had challenged them. However...the Brother is cunning, and he has always hated the creations of life, despite this being a creation of both brothers combined.” He narrates.

“The Brother acted like an impressed individual, approaching them as a humble merchant and soothsayer in the road, carrying possessions that he wished to offer them as gifts.” He narrates.

“He approaches the tallest and strongest of the men who sheathed his sword first. The Brother noticed the cracks on the blade and used that to his advantage.” Kassius narrates.

“The Brother pointed this fact out, and he offered him a new sword from his rucksack of goods. The sword was powerful, large and lethal and he handed it to the Knight, placing it in his hands. The Knight felt the power in his hands and he cheered for that power. The ability to kill those who stood in his way and control them if he chose to return them from the dead.” Kassius lists.

“He then turned to the next Knight, a man with a damaged back but he was still a good fighter, and could scare his enemies from his skill.” Kassius says.

“And so the Brother of Darkness reached into his bag of goods and pulled out a Gardening Scythe, the Knights mocked him, but once placed in his hand, the scythe grew and became a terrifying weapon that struck fear into them all when he held it.” Kassius explains.

“The Brother now turns to the next Knight, a tall muscular man with brutish features, he immediately identified him as a man who means business, and thus he pulled two battle axes from his bag which ignited in flames that could not hard the body of the Knight. The man felt the anger, and yet he thanked the Merchant anyway.” Kassius narrates.

“Finally, the Brother of Darkness turned to the final Knight. To his surprise, it is a woman with long white hair and blue eyes. A beautiful woman, he stated that he could provide a beautiful ring for such a woman. But the woman denied, and so, he sought something else. He reached in and removed a deadly bow from his collection, handing it to the Female Knight.” Kassius narrates.

“The Knights continue on their journey to a small village on the island. The Swordsman arrived at the village and was challenged by many other Mercenaries that had a little too much to drink, and the swordsman too had drank far too much. They began a duel, and the sword allowed the Knight to slay them all, absorbing their auras and killing them all. The more he killed, the more death started to become what he was. And before he knew it, the power of the Grimm itself had actually consumed his Aura, turning him into a servant of the Brother of Darkness.” Kassius narrates.

“The Knight of Fear would wander through the town, and the townsfolk would run, cry and become terrified at the image. His hunched over, hooded form with the scythe terrified the people and they treated him like a monster, thus over time, he became the very beast that they saw in him, scarring his body and his body mutated as the Grimm took him over. And so through fear, the Brother of Darkness had claimed another Knight.”

“The woman would arrive at her home to meet her beloved husband whom of which she is pregnant to. But when arriving back, he attacked her when lies were spread about her, and she was forced to murder her own husband. Sorrow overcame her and that sorrow lead to her unborn child dying in her stomach, leaving her with loss as well. Left in a tearful state for weeks, she had no idea that it would never end, and that the Grimm have now claimed yet another Knight.” He continues.

“The last Knight returned home, finding that his wife had been having an affair behind his back. This rage consumed him and the power of the Grimm took him over into a bloodthirsty rage and he slaughtered his wife and the man she had slept with for months behind his back. But the rage still never ended and he continued to slaughter and slaughter until the townsfolk doused him with oil and attempted to burn him alive, the fire never extinguished and he never stopped. Becoming the fourth servant of the Brother of Darkness.” Kassius narrates.

 

“It is said that the Four Knights still serve him today, existing within us all, that attracts the Grimm to harm us. Death, Fear, Loss and Fury...the Four Knights of Grimm.” Kassius concludes.

They all look at him after hearing the Fable of the Four Knights. It is something that they never thought they would find out, or hope to hear. There are Grimm Knights, the closest they came to something on this scale was the Nuckelavee, and that was still animalistic, these things are sentient. “Is it true?” Neptune asks.

“I don't know...The stories changed over time and have long been forgotten since they have not been seen in so long.” Kassius explains. “But it is the original story, not the newer ones. Others have nicknamed them the Four Horsemen, but this is not the case. They are simply knights who intend on serving the Grimm to kill us all, Faunus and Humanity alike.” He explains.

“God...I was hoping that I knew everything there was to know about Remnant...appears I was wrong.” Qrow groans.

“So...there's that.” Kassius says, sitting back in his chair after telling everyone about the story of the Four Knights.

“Um...I still have so many questions...the Four Maidens? What are you talking about?” Blake asks him. Kassius looks at Ruby and then at Qrow.

Qrow sighs. “What's your favourite fairy tale?” He asks them all.

 

**Cinder**

 

Cinder sits there in her chair at Salem's Base. She looks at her hand that is sleeved, only looking at it with one eye. Her glowing orange eye, faintly amber underneath, looks at it and she clenches her hand into a fist. She breathes in and out, her voice appearing more prominently now. She still has half of her face covered up after what Ruby did to her when using her Silver Eyes, an attack that vastly wounded her and left her in Salem's charge. She looks forward and her eyes fixate onto Tyrian who is also sat at the table.

Watts and Hazel are still out in the field. Tyrian has calmed down after his outburst on the Beowulf after his failure. He looks at her with a smirk and she looks away. Emerald and Mercury stand behind her. “Merc-“ She winces, getting his attention. Her voice is still tender, only struggles every now and then.

“Yeah?” Mercury respond. Cinder coughs aggressively, blood coming out her mouth, and she points to a bag.

“The meds...” She weakly says. Mercury walks over to the bag and he pulls out a vial with a purple substance inside.

“Here.” He says, handing it to her. She unscrews the cap and drinks a little bit of the stuff. She tenses up at the vile taste of the substance and she grits her teeth. Then she starts to breathe normally, still a rasp in her voice as she breathes. Mercury looks at Emerald and she looks at him before turning back to Cinder. Tyrian clasps his hands together.

“You wish to fight her again?” Tyrian questions. She looks at him with a scowl. He just points at his own eye, just like he did beforehand.

“Enough!” Cinder yells, slamming her fist into the table with force, gritting her teeth. “I will kill that girl in my time. And when I find her, there won't be enough to identify her with.” Cinder threatens. Tyrian laughs a little at that, his severed scorpion tail sat on the table.

“You might have to get in line.” Tyrian says, pointing at where his stinger used to be, still regenerating. Cinder smirks at that and Tyrian flares his teeth at her, activating his blades. But before he can lunge at her, the doors burst open. They both turn and they stand down in fear.

They stand up respectfully as she enters the room. The black and purple dress around her and the red eyes glow. Grimm scarring across her face that connect to her eyes. White hair formed like a spider with jewels clinking around, attached to the hair. She looks at the two Circle Members with the black sclera and red iris filled eyes.

“I think we have had enough sparring, haven't we?” Salem asks, a real presence of terror about her. She ushers them to sit down and they do so without question. “Cinder...how are you?” She asks.

“Better...” Cinder says, her voice still weak but she can actually speak now through a scratchy voice.

“Well, you will still have to remain here for some time to fully recover. Worry not, we have some old friends who have returned.” Salem says, opening the doors by moving her hand. Darkness surrounds the doors and it yanks them both open, revealing she has some sort of Telekinetic Power. Cinder turns and her eyes widen in pure fear when she sees them.

The Four figures emerge from the darkness. The dark being stands in the middle of the four, glowing red eyes looking at them all, black smoke trailing from his body. His sword is sheathed into his scabbard on his leg and he continues to walk in. Then by his side is the hunched over Knight with the torn grey hood pulled over his rotten head, golden eyes looking at them all and long sharp clawed fingers. He holds his scythe in his hand as he enters and his Crossbow is strapped to his back. He walks in, making the hairs stand up on all their bodies. Cinder pushes some of the black hair from her eye so then she can see them clearly. The fire based Knight is also here, snarling in rage, clutching the fiery axes in his massive burning hands, which makes Tyrian's hand clench into a fist. And finally there is the smaller woman with the veil over her face, pale blue skin and sniffling slightly, not crying at the moment though. Her presence makes Emerald wipe a tear away, even though she doesn't know why.

“Meet the Four Knights of Grimm: Death, Fear, Loss and Fury.” Salem introduces, her arms stretched out to them as they stand there. Fear has affected Cinder, Fury affected Tyrian and Loss affected Emerald.

"When do we start?" Death asks.

The Knights of Grimm have returned...


	11. Memoriam

**Ruby**

Ruby sits at the fire, shocked from what she has just learned about the Four Knights of Grimm...knowing that these monsters are out there and they will take everything from them if they do not stop them. Everyone else is also in awe, after Qrow explained the Fall Maidens, the Tale of the Two Brothers, the Silver Eyed Warriors...everything that has happened.

But Ruby's attention now turns to the mysterious Oscar Pine. He has not said a word since he told them that Ozpin is connected to him somehow. Ruby may have been informed ahead of time, but she is still curious of how the whole thing works. Oscar sits there, looking at the fire with his hazel eyes. He never asked to be put in this situation, to be this person with so much responsibility. “Oscar?” Ruby gently asks, his head turns after she speaks and he looks at her, seeing the silver eyes. “What was it like? When you and Ozpin became linked, was it instant?” She asks him. Oscar looks back at his gloved hands and he sighs, sometimes thinking that his hands do not belong to him.

Like he is seeing Ozpin’s hands instead from the crossed memories in his head.

“I don't know...I started waking up in my sleep, hearing a voice calling to me. Then he started speaking to me outside of my sleep.” Oscar explains to her, Ruby does not say it but her thoughts lead to the nightmares she has had in the past about Pyrrha and what she saw on Beacon Tower. “He only said that now his soul and my soul are combined, he wasn't very clear about the rest. What I said to you was merely his memories with mine, even I don’t really understand all of them.” Oscar says, and it is ironic because he even is starting to speak like Ozpin now.

 “How can I believe you?” Ruby asks him, still a little baffled by it all. Clearly she wants some more proof that he is telling the truth, something more personal than everything else Ozpin has done to prove it to her.

“But I already did...” Oscar stammers with confusion, so Ruby clarifies.

“Ozpin was the headmaster of Beacon Academy – if your memories are merged, then see if you can remember something I did back at school.” Ruby suggests curiously, tilting her round head as she looks at the young man. He ponders and ponders, when he begins to hear Ozpin’s voice in the back of his mind.

Acting as a guide for him.

“Ask her this simple question, Oscar:  _How did you kill the Nevermore in the Emerald Forest during your Initiation_?" Ozpin advises, Oscar looks to the side a little whilst Ruby quizzes him, since he would never know that himself. But with the combined memories of Ozpin and him, he does know the answer. But it is showing that that Ozpin is really in there.

“What?” Oscar questions with widened eyes in the back of his mind, Ruby only sees his eyes widen slightly.

“Trust me.” Ozpin requests, but Oscar’s question was more from awe of the fact that someone his age managed to take down a Nevermore by herself.

Well she didn’t, but still.

So Oscar sighs, looking at her as he asks the question.

“How did you kill the Nevermore in the Emerald Forest during your Initiation?” Oscar asks her, and the question clearly works like a charm.

“Huh?” Ruby questions, her head tilting like a confused puppy. But Ruby searches through her memories to remember how she killed in, and then it is like she saw it again. But before she can answer.

“You ran up the cliff with Weiss' help, hooking its neck and you beheaded it.” Oscar says, and the expression on her face shows that she really does seem to believe him now, because how could he have known that if he was never there?

Oscar now turns to Yang and she looks at him with her lilac coloured irises. “You have been searching for your mother, Raven Branwen, for answers.” Oscar says to her. Yang looks at him, then her big eyes look down at the floor, thinking about Raven.

He then looks at Weiss. “You are afraid of failing your family name, and you would do anything to make sure that it does not fall apart.” Oscar says, remembering memories that do not even belong to him. Weiss looks at him with surprised eyes and then she looks at Neptune who has also heard this information. She too is amazed by this.

And then Oscar looks at Blake, the one who still feels alienated by Yang. “And you would fight so hard for the cause you believe in, not what it has become.” Oscar says, almost like the talk that Blake and Ozpin had nearly a year ago at this point. Blake's feline ears bend downwards with her eyes as they look at the floor.

Oscar looks down at his hands, staring at the many calluses he has collected as a Farm Hand. “I don't know what I am...why I am...” Oscar mutters as he sighs, since he is also in the dark just as much as everyone else.”I don't know why Ozpin has connected himself with me...or how...but I promise that I will do what has to be done to help you stop Salem.” Oscar says to them all, and they all can admire the bravery that this young man has.

“Salem...” Yang repeats in a fearful voice, a tone well deserved of that name, the name of a weapon that could kill millions. “What do we know about her?” Yang asks her Uncle. Qrow grumbles a little in his gravelly voice, swivelling one of the silver rings slid onto his right index finger.

“Not much.” He says, leaning forward and clasping his hands together.

“You said once that it didn't matter...what about now?” Ruby asks him.

“Well...since there are things that I guess even old Oz didn't know...then maybe it is important. The few things we do know is that she is some sort of humanoid Grimm, some think that she is the leader of them, or the first Grimm ever created. No one is really certain, but what we do know is that she wants the four Relics. For what purpose, is uncertain.” Qrow explains to them all. Ruby can picture the many different variations of what she could look like, seeing a Grimm Reaper at one point and literally a human with white skin and red eyes. Her second picture is closer to the truth, but the personality of their enemy is not far from that of the Grimm Reaper. Weiss rolls a dust crystal through her fingers, her eyes turning over to the Uncle of Ruby and Yang.

“Can we kill her?” She asks, clenching her hand around the dust crystal.

“Again...no one has ever challenged her because no one has ever met her and survived.” Qrow says to Weiss. “But...at the moment, the case is still the same. We need to protect Haven Academy at all costs. It is the most important mission, Cinder is going to make another play again, soon.” Qrow says. “I think we should be ready for them before we have a repeat of Beacon. We can't lose another School. I only just managed to get Ozpin's cane with the Relic in it and get Ruby out of there after...” He stops, his eyes looking over at Jaune who is just looking at the fire. They all look at Jaune, concerned for him.

“Jaune?” Sun says to him, putting his hand on his shoulder. Jaune closes his eyes.

“What's the point anymore?” He mumbles. Qrow stares right at him, his eyes narrowing and he sighs.

“You not backing out on us, are you kid?” Qrow asks him. Team RWBY all look at him, and Ruby looks bewildered by this change in personality in him. But they all know what it is. Ren and Nora look at him, and Nora puts her hand on his to make him feel better, but it does not seem to help very much.

“This was hard enough with the Grimm...now we have to worry about Four Unstoppable Knights? A Goddess? Mercenaries...” He lists, looking straight at Qrow. Qrow leans back into his chair as he says that, crossing one leg over the other. “Come on, guys...we can't win this...we're outmatched, outgunned, outsmarted...” He lists again, hovering his finger above each of his other digits as he lists them all, and his statements are not wrong.

They have so many enemies now.

“We can't just give up, Jaune. We have to try.” Neptune states.

“Yeah, we didn't come this far just to give in.” Weiss says in agreement. Jaune looks at her and then at the others, letting out a big sigh.

“Jaune...” Kassius says, looking at him. Jaune looks back at the new member of their group who he has never met, but he has learned so much about already. “I know it feels hopeless...losing someone you love. But my girlfriend once told me something very important that has kept me going.” Kassius affirms with the astute tone of a Veteran Huntsman, despite the fact that he is only a couple months older than them.

Jaune looks at him, listening for what Vetra told him. “In the darkest of times, whenever you feel alone, whenever it all seems like hope is lost...remember...it's not over...not yet.” He recites to Jaune, something that would mean a lot to the blonde haired boy considering what he lost on that tower.

Jaune looks back at the flames, exhaling. “Alright...” He says with a sigh, it does not heal the wound that he has been dealt, but it does sooth it. Killing the bacteria of negative thoughts that pulsated through his mind like that.

“Your fear is understandable.” Kassius says.

“Trust me, I know.”

Jaune then feels the sudden urge to change the subject to something else, in view of the fact that talking about his dead crush would be a hell of a soul degenerating conversation to have with friends. “So what's the next step?” He asks, snapping back to the Jaune Arc that they all know so well, thanks to Kassius' little push he gave him to get him back onto the saddle.

“We need to find out how secure the Relic is here. Make sure that the Vault it is being held in has not been compromised. I’m hoping Ol’ Lionheart has made sure that the Vault is constantly secured.” Qrow says to them all, taking out his flask filled with whiskey. He pops the cap off, his lips caressing around it as he takes a swig, then tightening the cap back onto it. “Then we can make a plan to defend it. This place has Legendary Warriors, it's not like Beacon. Imagine a thousand Pyrrha's but are actually more skilled.” Qrow suggests. Ruby giggles a little.

“Surely this place doesn't need us if that's the case.” Ruby says, bringing a happier side to remember Pyrrha by, her skill and how she meant business when she fought. Even Jaune smiles a little when she says that, the entire room laughs a little at it, at least that is a victory in itself. They won't be cursed to always remember Pyrrha as the person they loved, failed and lost from the efforts from the forces of evil at Beacon. At least they can still remember her by the fond memories.

“Well, at least we are all back together. I think that is at least a good reason to drink.” He says, drinking more whiskey from his flask. They all sit there, around the fireplace, but Blake is still hurt from what happened. Yang is looking at her, she still feels hurt from when Blake left her – but after what Sun had told her about what happened, her thoughts have changed drastically. And she can see the agony in her feline amber eyes, the anguish on her expression, that urge to get revenge.

Because she has seen it on herself whenever she looked in the mirror, when thinking about Adam Taurus and Cinder Fall after everything that happened at Beacon Academy. “So what's the first order of business?” Qrow asks.

Weiss looks at him, a thought travelling into her head. “My sister.” Weiss suggests, getting all their attentions drawn to the Former Heiress. Qrow nearly coughs out an entire lung when he inhales some of the whiskey, he covers his mouth with his wrist when Weiss brings her up.

His eyes widen. “Winter?” He asks in a grating, raspy voice from breathing in Whiskey. He coughs a couple of times as well to breathe, and everyone thinks back to the last time those two were in close proximity with each other.

“I know, you two haven't always seen eye-to-eye...” Weiss says, using quotations around the phrase.

“That's one hell of an understatement.” Qrow comments, pointing right at the Ice Queen.

“But...I heard Ironwood speaking to my father when I left. He said that she knows something, about enemy movements here in Mistral. And from the short time I have been here...it seems to be correct. With this: Acolytes of Lien bunch wandering, now these Knights and Salem...things are going down here.” Weiss explains to him. “If we find her, then she could help us.” She points out. Blake looks at them, trying to help as best as she can despite what she lost back on Menagerie.

And her information will come in handy as well, after the attack they launched on that White Fang Facility back on Menagerie.

A battle that seemed worthless now, after what happened to Kuo Kuana.

“Adam is here as well.” Blake reveals to them all. Qrow pauses mid sip of his flask, then his eyes turn to Yang as he sees her anger form at the sound of his name coming to her ear. Weiss and Yang both look at her, Yang's metal hand twitching at the very mention of his name.

“Adam?” Yang snarls in resentment, her pearly white teeth gritted and her eyes glow red suddenly from her anger filling up in her body. Her fists clench tight. Blake almost looks afraid of her, but Kassius gently touches Yang's arm with his hand.

“Hey...firefly calm down. He's not here right now.” He gently reassures. She looks at him and she breathes in and out, closing her eyes. When she opens them, they return to their adorable lilac state, and she smiles toothlessly at him, the fiery rage extinguishing inside of her and her hair recedes to glow.

“Sorry, Blake...” She apologises with a kind smile, Sun looks at her and he nods softly, hoping that they can become friends once more.

“It's okay.” Blake says back, her large cat-like amber eyes compassionately looking at Yang.

“How do you know that he is here?” Scarlet asks her, sat on the arm of one of the red sofas, his arm resting on his knee. He scratches his cheek with is other hand to get the itch he felt. Sage stood against the wall behind him with his huge sword leant against the rendered wall as well, as tall as Ruby.

“Because we found a file that said that he would be here, and we heard Adam talking to that Lieutenant you guys faced on the train.” Sun answers for her, since he was there too. The status of the White Fang Lieutenant is still uncertain, whether or not Fury had killed him or not. He was still in the Kuo Kuanan Prison when the Grimm made their attack, he could have escaped though, he managed to survive and escape the Train Crash in Vale after all. It would not be crazy to assume he escaped that.

“The Big Guy?” Weiss asks with widened eyes, remembering when she fought him, mostly remembering the roar of his Chainsword that he used against her, and the fact he almost killed her is quite terrifying as well.

“He's in way over his head.” Neptune says, looking at them all.

“He wouldn't know about the Knights, do you think he could change sides?” Oscar suggests, but he doesn't know Adam Taurus as well as they do. Blake sighs, pressing her fingers to her forehead.

“I don't know...he will support his cause no matter what the cost.” Blake points out, clearly knowing the man better than any of them do.

“Even if there is a world ending group of Grimm?” Sage asks, referencing the Knights of Grimm.

“Maybe...maybe he could change. I don't know though, Humanity has not treated him well.” Blake states. “He lost his family when he was very young and Sienna Khan took him in, pretty much raised him. When he and I were...together...he was better, he knew what he was doing. But the closer we got to a full Revolution, it consumed him.” Blake explains.

Yang clearly doesn't like hearing this conversation but she stays by Kassius and Ruby. “But I don't know...” Blake sighs heavily after concluding her explanation of Adam.

“We can't worry about that right now.” Qrow reminds, leaning back into the conversation with the new group that has been formed. The remains of the teams from Beacon. Qrow looks at Blake. “I'm sorry, Blake. I truly am for what happened to your parents. If you ever need to talk, you know where to find us. To find me.” He reassures, which makes her smile again. “Get some rest, you too, Sun. We can look for Winter in the morning.” Qrow says to them all, standing up and stretching out his back. Now he no longer has the bandage round his torso from the wound he suffered from Tyrian.

 

Qrow turns and he leaves them to rest. Team S.S.S.N and J.N.R leave the fireplace meeting and Oscar finds his room that he has rented. Carrying the conscience of Ozpin inside of that head of his. Kassius is the last to leave, patting Yang's shoulder and leaving them to find his room to rest as Qrow advised them to. Leaving only Team R.W.B.Y left at the fireplace. The four of them all sit around the fire, looking at each other.

This is the first piece of time that they have had together, alone.

Ruby looks at them all, and a solemn silence fills the room. Only the crackles from the dancing flames that light the room. “I never thought I would ever see you guys again...” Ruby says to the three of them. Their eyes all look up at the silver eyed girl, and only now do they all understand how important Ruby has become after everything that Qrow has told them.

“I missed you.” Blake says to her. “All of you.” She continues, turning to them all. Yang and Weiss look at Blake and they smile gently.

“Blake...” Weiss says, reaching out to her to be kind to her.

Blake recoils slightly. “Please...I'm trying not to...think about it.” Blake conveys to her, her hand holding her forearm, similar to how Weiss does when around her father. Their reunion is not as happy and beautiful as they hoped, it is a dark room with only a fire in the room to light it, filled with the silence of the night.

Yang looks at her Cybernetic Arm, the firelight reflecting off the metal components, she flexes the fingers around as she looks at it. Yang is the one that speaks up first, she looks over at her with saddened, and somewhat guilt filled eyes. “I – uh – I’m sorry, Blake.” Yang softly says, in which Blake raises her eyebrow.

“Sorry? For what?” Blake asks her.

“Not just for what happened...but because I wasn’t there for you when you were at the door...I was selfish and I’m sorry.” She apologises, clearly thinking on what Sun had told her. He used some harsh words, but with Yang sometimes that is the easiest way to get through to her, to get her to listen up.

“No, I should be the one that is sorry. I left you...left all of you...” Blake sighs.

“To find your family.” Ruby states, understanding her reasons as always, but she sighs.

“Not like it mattered in the end.” She says.

“You still have the memories of them, they were there for you, weren’t they?” Weiss asks her with her hands on her lap. Blake lifts her head to look at Weiss with her large eyes.

“Yes...” Blake sadly agrees, her eyes glassy with tears.

“Then it was worth it – trust me, I wish my father and mother was like that.” She sighs, thinking of the monster her father is and the sad shell that her mother has become.

“You have every reason to be mad at me, Yang...and I deserve it.” Blake sadly says.

“No...I was selfish. I didn’t bother thinking about what you wanted, what you were going through.” Yang sighs, and looks at her cybernetic hand. “I lost a part of me but got a replacement...but you can never replace what you lost. I am so sorry, Blake.” She says, and Blake looks down at the floor sadly.

“Thank you.” She sniffles.

They all sit there, and can feel the bond between the two rebuilding slowly over time.

Blake looks at Yang’s black and yellow cybernetic arm and she gasps in amazement, only catching on right now to the fact she has a replacement arm. “Who made that for you?” She asks her, since the last time that Blake ever saw Yang, she was without an arm. And she blamed herself for what happened because of what Adam did.

Yang looks at her with a smile, then she looks at the metal arm yet again, opening and closing her palm as she looks at it. She moves each finger independently with ease. Every piece of metal moves intricately with the inner fibres. Yang looks to her Faunus partner. “Ironwood.” Yang answers. “He had his best scientists make it for me, as a thank you apparently. And...I never did get a chance it to say it...but...thank you.” Yang says to Blake.

Blake looks at Yang, looking pretty clueless, even shy. “Why?” Blake requests, tilting her head.

Yang sighs. “I never did thank you for getting me out of there. Adam could have killed me...I still don't know how he did what he did...cutting through my aura.” Yang says, trying to remember as much as she can from that moment at Beacon.

“Moonslice.” Blake answers.

“Huh?” Yang replies.

“That's what he did, it's his Semblance. He absorbs attacks through his sword and then attacks back with force.” Blake explains. “I knew he did it to you when you jumped.” Blake explains. Yang looks at her. “And...you're welcome, and I'd do it again. We're a team, like you said.” Blake says, looking at Ruby. Ruby smiles at Blake. There is a short silence between them all as they sit before the flames. Weiss smiles as she sits there.

“I've missed you guys so much.” Weiss says to them all. “And you were all right.” Weiss admits. Ruby and Yang look at each other with a surprised look, even Blake's cat ears on her head perk up when she hears Weiss say that.

“I'm sorry did I hear that right?” Ruby asks. “Did you just admit you were wrong about something?” Ruby asks her with a surprised expression. Weiss pulls an expression that makes Ruby and Yang, even Blake, laugh a little. Weiss suddenly launches a cushion at the giggling girl, making her yelp playfully.

“Oh, don't be a pest!” Weiss snaps, which normally would be considered rude around most, but amongst Team R.W.B.Y, that is seen as one the best things she could say, because that is the real Weiss that they know and love. Weiss even realises that, a small smile growing on her face. She pushes some of her white hair from her eye, the light from the flames reveals her scar down her eye. Ruby eventually stops laughing and she looks at Weiss.

“Sorry, Weiss...continue.” She says, wiping a tear from her eye from laughing so hard.

“Anyway... Weiss says, smiling a little. “You were right about Atlas, all of you were.” Weiss says.

Blake lifts her head and raises an eyebrow with disbelief. “You?” Blake questions.

“Oh yeah.” Weiss agrees.

“You told us about the ball and your dad, what else could be worse?” Ruby asks her.

“Plenty.” Weiss assures with raised brows.

“How so?” Yang investigates, tilting her blonde head. Weiss looks up a little, gently biting her bottom lip as she thinks.

“Hmm, where to start?” She mumbles. “Let's start with the fact that they find the smallest problems huge. Like their hair, their money, their drinks, whether the cake is in fashion or not.” Weiss lists one at a time, like she is listing things off that she hates about Atlas. She lets out a groan of antipathy, throwing her long white hair back as she shudders at the thought. “Don't tell me I was like that...” She gyrates.

“Need I remind you of our Cake-Butler dilemma?” Ruby asks her with a raised eyebrow. Weiss looks at her.

“Okay, except for that. Klein always made the best cakes.” Weiss says, revealing that Klein was the infamous Cake-Butler all along. She defends herself and realises that she has just proven their point. “Oh god...I sound like one of them!” She realises, pressing her hands against her cheeks.

Blake giggles at her reaction.

It makes Ruby happy to see Blake able to giggle let alone crack a smile after everything, but that is what friends do.

“You were a little bit like that when we first met. Especially around us.” Yang says.

“I can't believe how horrible I was to you, Ruby. I never did say sorry.” Weiss says. But Ruby just responds with a smile.

“And you'll never have to.” Ruby says to her. Weiss happily smiles.

“What else happened when you were at Atlas?” Blake curiously asks her. Weiss holds her hands out to the flames, warming herself up, she might not be as ice cold as her father is, but she is still the Ice Queen.

“Let me think about that.” Weiss says to herself. She looks up with her eyes and then she remembers something immediately. "Oh god...my father did this Charity Ball for Beacon, it seemed like he cared but he really didn't, it was a way to keep his name in check.” Weiss says in disgust as she talks about him.

“Ooh, this is a great story.” Yang builds up with a smile, intriguing Blake further, whilst Weiss continues the story.

"But, I was looking at the painting that people could donate money to, of Beacon. And this guy came up to me...what was his name? Um...oh yeah, Henry Marigold.” Weiss remembers, snapping her fingers as the name returns to her. Henry Marigold, the man who approached Weiss at the ball in an attempt to win her over for a night as he probably attempts to with every attractive woman he meets. Long blueish hair combed over to the side and he wouldn't stop drinking. Weiss always nicknamed him _Douchebag Neptune_. “He wouldn't quit trying to woo me.” Weiss says, rolling her large blue eyes as she remembers some of his cheesy lines. “They were worse than some of Jaune's.”

“Someone tried to woo...you?” Yang asks, pointing at her with her finger with a laugh, clearly she never told them about this part of the story, opposed to the Boarbatusk Summoning Story.

“Yep.” Weiss agrees.

“Is he still alive?” Yang asks.

“God I hope not.” Weiss scoffs. “The guy stood there and thought I was going to buy the painting, and he didn't even know why there was a ball, he just came for the drinks and for the exceptional company.” Weiss recalls, quoting his speech as she remembers what he said. She lets out yet another sickened scoff at him. The people who died there don't deserve some ass like him showing up and not paying his respects. “None of them paid their respects, all they cared about was their drinks.” Weiss scoffs.

“Damn...and I used to think that you were cold as ice.” Yang says with a scoff.

“Horrible, no respect.” Blake says, shaking her head.

“Pyrrha deserved better, Penny deserved better.” Ruby says, remembering them like it was yesterday. They sit there, showing more respect for the dead than any of those people in Atlas ever did. They sit there and then Weiss leans back into the chair, breathing out.

“Anyway, enough about me!” Weiss says, looking at Ruby. “I want to hear more about you.” She says, leaning forward again.

“Yes!” Yang says, copying Weiss' action. Even Blake looks excited to hear about what she was doing out here as well, and that is not just a surprise because of what happened at Menagerie, it is a surprise for Blake to ever be excited about anything. “You've only told me in bits, let's really get into the nitty gritty.” Yang says.

“I told you about the Nuck.” Ruby says, using a shortened version of its complicated name.

“Yeah but...I mean, I've heard some stories.” Yang says with an excited smirk on her face.

“From who?” Ruby asks.

“Nora.” Yang answers.

“Oh gods...how exaggerated did she get?” Ruby asks.

“Well...there's only one way to find out.” Yang says with a smile.

“Yeah, I'd like to hear about them.” Blake agrees with a gentle smile.

“Let's not go there...” Ruby sighs, since she is humble and hates to sound like she is bragging.

“Come on!” Yang begs, on her knees, which makes Blake laugh at her humour which has not changed a bit.

“Yeah, I mean I've heard some stuff as well. Rescuing villages from Giant Monsters, cutting a crazy Scorpion Faunus' tail off, and killing the Nuckelavee? You've gotta fill us in fully, it was mostly Ren and Nora telling stories last time, I wanna hear your side of the story.” Weiss begs like an excited little girl. Ruby's silver eyes look around as she thinks of what story to start off with.

  * The Geist Battle?
  * The Fight against Tyrian?
  * The Nuckelavee?



_Well I already told them about the Nuckelavee, I guess I could save that story for last so then Blake can hear it._

Which one? She finally chooses one and then she gets comfortable, so do the others. Blake leans across the arm of the chair, good to see that with her friends she is able to step out of that world of misery and return to some form of normality...

Ruby begins to tell the story. “Okay...remember the story of the Petra Gigas? The um...oh what's it called?” Ruby struggles.

“Yarn of the Giant Hunters?” Blake asks, obviously she would have read it since she loves books so much. Petra Gigas is the scientific given to the Rock Giant form that the Geist took when they encountered it.

“That's it!” Ruby squeaks, pointing to Blake for how she reminded her. These two have always been friends because of how they both enjoyed reading books. “Well, we found a village and they told us that something was destroying their livestock.” Ruby explains.

“You found the Geist of Anima?” Blake asks in amazement, showing how this Geist was more famous than they initially thought.

“Yep, we fought it together, took a while to bring him down, but we did it. Thanks to Nora.” Ruby says with a laugh.

“No surprise.” Weiss giggles.

“We also learned something else.” Ruby whispers, making the other three lean in above the fire. “I saw what Jaune's hoodie is.”

“You did?” Yang questions with pure disbelief in her voice.

“Yep, it's Pumpkin Pete!” She says, beginning to laugh.

“Wait...don't they have to send out boxes to get those hoodies?” Yang asks, remembering back when she was younger and eating that cereal.

“Yeah, he sent like fifty!” Ruby laughs. Team R.W.B.Y burst into laughter over this, one of the few moments of happiness that the four of them have had since before Beacon fell. They wish that this happiness could last forever as they continue to share stories all night about their own individual adventures and things that happened with them.

In the skylight, the Fractured Moon glows in the night sky, a constant reminder of how fragile their future truly is.

 

Hours later...

Still awake and sharing stories between one another, with Ruby concluding one of hers along the way. “So what can I say? Another Giant Grimm destroyed and made it out alive, by the skin of our teeth as always.” Ruby concludes with the shrug of her shoulders, and they all look amazed at her stories, Yang chuckling.

“Incredible.” She sighs with awe.

“Yeah...wish you all could have been there.” Ruby says, looking between Weiss, Blake and Yang with a gentle smile. Yang even starts to notice that the end of this sharing stories session is very similar to the one she had with Kassius after they were reunited. So she says something similar to what he said.

“No really, it’s absolutely incredible. You mean to tell me you take down yet another incredible Grimm and somehow you manage to walk away without a single mark on you?” Yang asks her with awe and smiling away, making Ruby laugh as well.

“Yeah well, I guess that’s the story of my life.” Ruby shrugs with a smile on her face. “But hey, we all learned a few things along the way. Nora and I learned a team attack, Jaune improved Crocea Mors. And Ren let his hair down.” Ruby adds.

“I noticed, wouldn’t have thought it would look good on him. But it does.” She admits.

“Don’t let Nora hear you saying that, she might get jealous.” Blake warns with a smile.

Team R.W.B.Y finally reunited, and they continue to talk for much longer before deciding to rest a little bit.

 

**Adam**

Ash...

It is the remnants of everything that has been destroyed throughout time, and yet over time, life returns because of it. But that does not feel like the case here, at what remains of Menagerie. The next Mt Glenn or Oniyuri...the Fractured Moon watches the smoke trailing from the cleansed island in the dark night sky.

Wilt and Blush scrapes through the sand behind him as he walks across the dirt path, past completely destroyed homes that were once places for families to be raised. Bodies are scattered everywhere. Ash batters against his black trousers and his black shoes, the red under-layer covered with the ashes of the dead and the sand under his feet.

His trench coat blows around as he walks, the red accents glow along with the red rose insignia on his back shoulder combined with a tulip. His mask covers his face and is red hair glows faintly, the horns of the Faunus stick out above the Grimm-Styled Mask, scratches engraved against it from war.

Adam Taurus...

He looks around, awe on his face, his eyes may be obscured from the mask, but the emotion is there from the expression on his mouth. He continues to walk, however. The Bullhead lands down behind him, more White Fang Militants being dropped off behind him, aiming their rifles high for any Grimm that remain.

A Creep stands there, roaring at him and charging at him. Adam doesn't even look at the Grimm as he beheads it with a single swing of the red dust charged blade. The head of the Creep lands on the floor, disintegrating away into smoke, along with the body, red glowing from where it was cut.

He continues to walk, anger filling in him as he sees more and more dead Faunus around him where the Grimm had slaughtered them. Ahead, he sees a Grimm Beowulf Alpha roaring aggressively as it sees him, preparing to charge. Until the blade of a chainsaw erupts from its chest, cutting directly upwards, cutting its head in half and killing it. As the body turns to smoke, the White Fang Lieutenant walks through the smoke, still wearing his damaged mask as he approaches, holding the chainsaw in one hand. Adam holds his hand out to him. “Commander.” The Lieutenant greets, grabbing his hand, shaking it firmly.

“Good to see you made it, what happened?” Adam asks with a scared tone of voice, one that few people have actually heard from him, smelling the destruction through his nose.

“I don't know, sir. I was captured by Belladonna's rebellion, but then there was chaos. Grimm swarmed in, smashed through their defences and they started slaughtering people. The Grimm were lead by something I have never seen before...like some kind of...devil.” The Lieutenant explains. Adam looks around, fearful of what managed to do this by itself.

“What of Blake?” Adam asks.

“She got away, along with the monkey-kid.” The Lieutenant says. A surprising form of relief comes upon Adam, revealing that there is some sort of love for her still in there, but the idea of the Revolution has consumed him, turning him into the monster that hurt her, helped destroy Beacon and also removed Yang's arm from her body. Perhaps Adam is just happy to know that his love is not dead.

He turns, seeing three people approaching them, the White Fang soldiers with Adam aim their rifles, but he holds the blade of Wilt and Blush in front of them, leading to them standing down. Three people walk toward them. In the middle is a young woman with a reptilian like manner to her, in her hair and her personality. She looks at Adam, holding her chest in pain with scratches and bruises on her face.

Ilia Amitola, and with her are the two hooded men: Fennec and Corsac Albain, the two brothers who serve him. Fennec bleeds from his lip, coughing in pain.

Corsac wears a red hood that functions partially as a cloak, made of two pieces held together by yellow buttons and string. He wears a black tunic with two sections extending farther down than the rest at his front, and a hole is cut out for his tail. Both the hood and tunic have white trimming. He also wears detached white sleeves, bound at the mid-bicep and the wrists. Black gloves serve that function and attach to his middle fingers. His white pants are pleated. He wears black open-toed sandals with fabric extending up to his knees.

Similar to his brother, Fennec wears a red hood that functions partially as a cloak, made of two pieces held together by buttons and string. Holes cut in the top for his fox ears. He wears a black tunic with two sections extending farther down than the rest at his front. White trimming defines the shape of the hood and tunic. He also wears detached white sleeves, bound at the mid-bicep and the wrists. Black gloves serves that function and are attached to his middle fingers. His white pants are pleated. He wears black open-toed sandals with fabric extending up to his knees.

“Brother Adam...” Corsac greets, blood leaking from his wounds.

“Heal them.” Adam orders to his men. The soldiers nod, taking out a pair of medkits and they run up to the Albain Brothers. “Any survivors?” Adam asks them.

Ilia shakes her head.

“We're it.” Ilia says to him.

Adam turns to his Lieutenant and he simply nods to the Bull Faunus. Adam looks at the town in awe, and then he sees the damaged Belladonna Residence down the path. He walks down the road towards the Residence, still holding Wilt and Blush tight as he approaches it. He grits his teeth in anger, seeing how many innocent Faunus have lost their lives from the very monsters that Cinder promised would not attack him or his men anymore.

And yet here they are, dead before him. Ilia and the others follow him to the house. He turns a corner, and he stops. He gasps, nearly dropping Wilt and Blush onto the floor when he sees his body. Ghira Belladonna's body on the floor. It has now become cold and pale from the time he has been laying there, his blood has become a stain on the soil, a constant mark of his failure to help the Faunus of this beautiful island, that is now a ruin.

Adam looks at his body and Ilia stands beside him, dwarfed by his height...she gasps in horror. The two people who knew the family the best, an Ex-Boyfriend and an old best friend. “Ghira...” Ilia gasps. Adam kneels down beside the body of Ghira and he lowers his head.

“Rest in peace, Ghira Belladonna.” Adam respectfully speaks. The Lieutenant stands there, his muscular arms crossed as he looks at him.

“We need to leave while we still can.” The Lieutenant warns.

“We will bury him.” Adam says.

“There's no time.” The Lieutenant argues, his argument leads to Adam spinning round, swinging Wilt and Blush at his neck, stopping it before it killed him.

“We. Will. Bury. Him.” Adam repeats, slowly and coldly. The Lieutenant looks at him through the mask and he just nods, making a wise choice. Time passes as they bury Ghira, creating a cross from the pieces of wood that they find from the destroyed buildings. The Lieutenant found a shovel, digging a respectful hole for Ghira and they gently put him into his home. They bury his body into the ground in front of his house. They place the cross at the top of the grave, placing a plaque of wood with charcoal words written on it. Marking the grave.

_In loving memory of:_

_Ghira Belladonna, loving husband and father,_

_Kali Belladonna, loving wife and mother,_

_Rest In Peace._

Adam and Ilia stand there, paying their respects to someone who was once an old friend. Adam pushes the red blade of Wilt and Blush into the soul, his hands rested together on the hilt like a Knight as he pays his respects. Ilia holds her hands together in front of her waist, looking down at the grave that they have made for Blake's parents.

Ilia completes her eulogy, turning to leave the grave. Adam pulls the blade from the soil turning to walk away, but he stops. He looks back at the grave and then he reaches into one of the interior pockets of his black trench coat. He pulls out a beautiful red rose, holding it by the emerald stem as he places it down on top of the grave. He looks at the grave. “Goodbye, old friend.” Adam says respectfully. He turns and walks away from the grave, sliding Wilt and Blush into the sheath strapped to his belt.

“What now?” The Lieutenant asks.

“Now? We return to Mistral and wait for Cinder to meet with us. And I think we are owed some answers for what has happened here, this was never part of the deal.” Adam says with a snarl, walking away.

He leaves the rose on the grave of Ghira and Kali Belladonna, letting the wind flutter the red petals of the beautiful plant.

Letting them finally rest.


	12. Punishment

**Cinder**

The Fall Maiden...

She glares at a tiny candle that sits there, lacking the warmth of a flame to burn above its waxy body.

She lights the precious little candle over and over again with her Fall Maiden Abilities. Every snap of her finger lights the candlestick with a spark, and then she blows it out with one huff from her lips. Her one amber eye remains, looking at the flame as she continuously repeats this.

She closes that eye when she sees her reflection, her long black hair covering over the patch that covers her face. She sniffles, a tear leaking from her eye as she stands there. She is on her own in here; no one is inside with her. She looks at the reflection of herself in the window, wiping the tear from her cheek as it trickles down the smooth side of her face.

She is a beautiful girl, but all of that rage, that hunger for power has made her lose those looks at just create a face that people will grow to fear instead of be attracted to. She touches the patch on her face and she shudders at it. But she takes her hand away, unable to look at herself. Her eyes travel down to the table where here tear has just landed. She clenches her hand into a fist as anger channels through her from her head into her hand.

She arches her fist up and she smashes her fist into the table with tremendous force, screaming in anger as she punches it. The table snaps loudly with a wooden crunch, splinters leaping in the air with the plume of dust created from her punch. She grits her teeth in anger. She tries to fight the tears that leak from her large eye but she struggles to.

_Why won’t she let me go after the little brat that did this to me?_

_That girl...Pyrrha Nikos...she should have done as Ozpin said, she would have survived and Ruby wouldn’t have unlocked her power..._

_And maybe I could look in the mirror again._

Cinder sighs, her confused emotions flowing through her muscles and her skin constantly.

She opens it, looking at herself one more time. Only then does she notice that she is no longer alone. Stood behind her is the Knight of Loss. She looks at her through the black veil that covers her face. The glow of her sapphire eyes faintly glowing through the black fabric. Cinder gasps, the woman stands there, and her pale blue skin making her look almost ghost-like. Cinder slowly turns to the woman behind her, the bow around her on her back. Her long white hair floats around, like she is underwater almost.”What do you want?” Cinder harshly grills with gritted teeth and partially flaming irises, her voice trembling in fear of the Knight or from her sorrow. Using rage to disguise her trepidation of the mysterious entity that she does not even recognise.

Loss tilts her head slightly at the young girl.

“Sweet thing...why are you sad?” Loss asks. Cinder looks at her and she wipes a tear from her eye.

“You're here, your presence...right?” Cinder presumes, but mysterious female Knight of Loss just shakes her head.

“I sensed your sadness and I came, wanted to see what was wrong.” Loss says, her voice is almost comforting to Cinder, gentle and soft as she speaks. Cinder looks away from her, no longer the confident girl that she was back at Beacon, she has become weaker with her great power. She lost something back on that tower, just like Ruby and the others did.

"I don't..." Cinder stammers, her voice breaking in grief. "I don't know." Cinder says. Loss slowly walks towards her. Loss reaches out to Cinder's cheek and Cinder shudders, feeling an ice cold breath of air from her palm as it nears her face.

“What a beautiful thing you are.” Loss gently compliments to Cinder, these kind words make her feel more uncomfortable father than reassured. “Why come to the Queen?” Loss asks. Cinder looks at her.

“I was weak, everyone treated me that way. I was tormented for so many years of my childhood, always seen myself as the smallest most insignificant thing in the world. I wanted to prove them wrong...” Cinder explains, holding her arm as she stares down at the floor.

“So you went to the leader of the creatures of Grimm?” Loss questions with a confused expression behind the black veil that hides her real face, only partially though. Cinder shakes her head as she stands there.

“No...There was a time...a close friend of mine and I were both put in prison, I watched him die when the Grimm attacked after a school refused to let us enter. So, to honour his last wish...I went to Ozpin at Beacon for help.” Cinder tearfully explains, clearly pondering on what happened to her previous friend that died.

Killed by the Grimm...a horrible way to go, Ruby has not seen it with her eyes, but they do not just kill you. But they have been known to eat people alive, inflicting agony upon them – giving people slow agonizing deaths.

Loss raises her brow curiously as she looks at Cinder. “And did he give you the help that you sought?” Loss asks her.

Cinder slowly clenches her hand into a fist with anger, hatred flowing through her body when she thinks of the man. Back to when she tried to get to Vale and the journey and pain she felt getting there in the first place. “No...He told me that this was a place for warriors, not for people like me.” Cinder explains, her voice cracking as she speaks, revealing the truth to Loss. This revelation explains why she hated Ozpin so much, and perhaps why she was tasked with the destruction of Beacon Academy.

“And what were you?” Loss asks her, and Cinder stares at the Knight stood beside her with her hands by her side. Cinder looks confused, as if she is not overly certain of what she meant by that question.

“I don’t understand.” Cinder tells her, so the Knight decides to clarify the question for her.

“What did he see you as? Why were you not right for his school? Did he give you a proper reason?” Loss asks her, as if she is trying to see if her hatred for Ozpin is justified or if her younger mind developed this hatred for a more understandable reason. But Cinder’s answer and the anger that flows through her body is clearly enough to show that there is a reason for her hate.

“He called me a creature, because I survived by stealing...since I had nothing left. He turned me away and let me rot in the streets...until she found me.” Cinder explains, looking down at the floor, closing her eye slowly with sadness in her voice.

Then Loss changes the conversation, and it becomes more and more intimidating.

“Then why didn't you kill him?” Loss asks her, tilting her head. Cinder looks around, fear filling in her bones. She takes a shaky breath, but Loss has claimed her trust, perhaps the real reason for her being here with the Fall Maiden.

“Because I trusted him.” Cinder says. “My friend did. I thought maybe he could fix all this, give me a purpose, a chance to avenge him.” Cinder explains, walking past Loss. Cinder never spoke of this individual before...Loss watches her as she sits down at the chair, pressing her head into her palms.

“So he lives?” Loss asks.

“I don't know. I left him down there. He could be alive...I buried him, but I gave him a chance.” Cinder reveals the truth to Loss.

“Why?” Loss interrogates, her hands now held behind her back.

“Because he gave me a second chance once...I felt I should return the favour. He could have called the police on me...he knew I was a criminal, but he only refused me entrance, but he let me go. I guess...I guess, maybe I wanted him to know how it felt to be abandoned. To be nothing." Cinder admits.

The silence in the Small Council Chamber is bone chilling.

And Cinder knows it.

Because she has just revealed something that could be very terrible for her, even punishable.

Loss goes silent for a while, Cinder wipes a tear from her eye again and then she turns around at where Loss was stood and she gasps in fear.

Her body becomes ridged, as if she was paused with a remote controller, petrified thoughts bouncing around in her brain.

Salem is stood right behind her and Loss is gone. Salem has her arms crossed over and her red eyes are staring straight into her amber one. They narrow with a sense of anger at her. Cinder looks at her like a child that has done something extremely wrong. “You lied to me.” Salem snarls coldly with a sharp tone.

Cinder's eye widens in fear and dread. Salem barely lifts her hand and the patch that covers her eye comes launching from her face into her hand. Revealing the damage that Ruby did to her. The Silver Eyed pulse has completely incinerated her eye into nothing more but scar tissue that has ravaged the side of her head. The burns reach all the way to her left ear, even slightly deforming the cartilage there as well. Salem holds her obsidian patch and crushes it in one swift clenching of her hand, her expression not changing one bit.

Shards of broken volcanic glass are thrown across the ground, showing the strength of the Dark Queen since she managed to crush one of the most versatile structures on the planet with her hand. Cinder stammers in fear.

“Please...I'm sorry...I can explain...” Cinder begs.

“I believe you have already explained everything I needed to know.” Salem states, her eyes glancing over to Cinder’s shoulder and she nods.

Suddenly she feels a hand grab her by her shoulder, sheer terror channels across her body and she whimpers, looking up to see the rotten face of Fear. His golden eyes stare down at her. He shakes his head with a smirk, totting through his torn lips and his yellow sharp teeth gritted. Her head turns to her other shoulder when she feels the other hand, feeling the cold pressure of Loss grabbing her shoulder. She looks at Loss with fear, unable to see her face beyond the veil, just the glowing blue eyes.

Cinder then looks at Salem, behind her are Emerald and Mercury who are badly bruised with cuts on them, dragged in by Tyrian. A mad smirk curved across his face. Emerald shakes in fear and he points the tips of his wrist blades against the back of their necks.

“Shall I, milady?” Tyrian asks with a smirk, the blood-thirst clear in his eyes, ready to kill them both at a moment’s notice. And showing that he has absolutely no loyalty to Cinder – only his Queen.

“No.” Salem answers without even looking at the Scorpion Faunus. Tyrian groans, sighing with disappointment. “Put them in the prison cells. Loss, Fear. Strip of her clothes and take her to Fury. Let her bare the symbol of a traitor and feel what true humiliation feels like.” Salem snarls, turning and walking away with a sinister smirk on her face.

“Please, no!” Cinder begs, crying out for her like a daughter to a mother who wants forgiveness. “I'll do anything!” She cries out, tears streaming from her eye.

“All you have to do, Cinder...is survive.” Salem snarls. Cinder's eye widens in fear and she stammers, looking at Fear who starts laughing menacingly at her as Mercury and Emerald are dragged away by Tyrian as Salem leaves the room.

“Leave her alone!” Emerald screams, desperate to help her, and Mercury punches Tyrian’s arm only to get a kick to the face.

“Don’t you touch her you monsters!” Mercury roars, showing to Cinder that they truly are loyal to her and nobody else. Cinder holds her hand out to Fear.

“Please...” She begs. Fear smirks, grabbing her red dress and ripping it off in one swift action with his arm. He grabs her by the hair and she cries out. She screams in terror as he pulls her away and Loss walks with him as he drags the naked girl through the halls as Salem walks. Grimm Beowulves are inside, roaring and gnarling at her but just the presence of Fear makes them all stand down.

“See that?” Fear asks her as she struggles, feeling the ice cold stone that her skin is grating against. She tries to use her Fall Maiden powers against him, but somehow something is holding it back. The tattoo on her back is the one responsible for that somehow, paralysing her aura completely. Cinder looks up at the Knight of Fear as he drags her by the hair with his rotten skeletal hand. “That's respect.” He snarls, clearly confusing the two things together from what his curse has brought upon him.

They enter a large room, purple light filling the room and the Fractured Moon hangs in the purple skies of this mysterious land. Stood in the middle of the room is Fury, fire engulfing his hand and he glares at Cinder as she is dragged in. Fear drops her torn dress down onto the floor and Loss forms by the restraints, grabbing her wrist and tightening them around her. She does the same for her ankles and her other wrist. She yelps, feeling the most vulnerable she has ever felt in her entire life.

Cinder stares at Loss desperately, her heart pounding with horror. “Help me...I’m sorry...I’ll do anything!” She cries out, but she can see the anguish in Loss’ eyes, something very different than the other Knights. She does not even look like she wants to do any of this to her, but clearly she is outnumbered, so she is following her orders.

“I’m sorry...” Loss apologises, walking away from her as Fury approaches her, Cinder can already feel the heat getting more intense by the second. Fury stands there, staring at her.

“Traitors are not to be tolerated, Cinder.” Salem speaks calmly as Fury slowly approaches her. Cinder begins to whimper in fear as he approaches, his hand held out.

“Please! I beg of you! I will do anything!” She cries, tears falling from her face. Salem smirks evilly as she watches, then Cinder realises that there is no way out of the situation. Then the agony strikes her and she screeches with distress.

Fury takes his hand and presses it right against her sternum, smoke starts to rise from her skin, the foul smell of flesh burning coming from her body. Cinder shriek's in agony, a bone chilling scream as well as it echoes through the halls as Fury smirks at her, pressing his burning hand harder and harder above her breasts and just far enough from her throat to not kill her.

She cries and screeches as he burns the shape of his own hand onto her sternum and breast, holding it there for up to thirty seconds which creates excruciating pain for her. Like a hot iron constantly being pushed in one place into her body. She screams more and more from the pain, wishing it would stop. Her eyes slowly begin to tire, her voice weakening as she begins to get light headed, sweat practically pouring from her exposed body.

It is like some sort of horrific public punishment that would have been performed hundreds of years ago.

Finally his hand is removed, molten flesh sticking to his palm as he pulls away, the skin tearing off like paper, blood leaking from her wound. Barely conscious, she continues to sob, tears leaking from her face as she hangs there from her ankles and wrists. She looks up at Fury and he snarls at her, a monstrous smirk on his face which makes her look away. Her tears drip down from her cheek and eye, onto the ice cold ground.

“Next time...it will be worse.” He threatens, moving his hand towards her eye, the heat dries the tears in that eye. “The other side...” He warns with a chillingly terrifying growl, his hand near her face. Then he swiftly pulls his hand away from her face, not harming her again, but the damage has been done...both physically and mentally.

Cinder weeps in agony, blood leaking from the burn and across her unclothed body and seeping to the floor, dripping down her bare naked skin. Her body has been extremely scarred already from what Ruby did to her, but now Fury has just added another to the collection. Salem stands there and she did not even flinch at that, she was smiling the whole time, listening to the poor young girl's screams. She has done bad things, but nobody deserves this. Salem turns to Fear.

“Throw her in one of the cells. Let her contemplate on what she has done, and hopefully she will remember what happens when someone lies to me.” Salem orders. Fear nods, the hunched over Knight approaches her and he cuts the restraints off her limbs and then grabs her by her long black hair, dragging her with his long sharp claw like fingers through the hall.

She does not writhe anymore, but blood is now trailing from her body as she is dragged across the black floor, leaving a trail of crimson behind. Cuts and bruises have been inflicted across her body just from being dragged across the floor like that, locks of black hair ripped from her scalp in the process, blood leaking down her cheek from the damage done.

Fury stands there, still with her molten skin stuck to his hand. He clenches his hand tight, burning it to dust, turning and walking away. There is an expression on both his and Loss’ faces...as if they both did not want to do that. Yet Fear has that sadistic smirk on his face.

Loss looks over at Salem and she just stands there, walking away from where they had just tortured and humiliated Cinder Fall. Loss narrows her sapphire blue eyes at Salem, before she turns and walks away from the Dark Queen, leaving Fury alone in the chamber.

Fear takes Cinder, grabbing one of the cells, nearly bending the metal bar on the door and ripping the door. There is completely no light at all inside of the cell. He throws her inside and she smashes against the wall, crying out in pain. He glares at her, his golden eyes staring at her. He takes the door and throws it shut, locking it with her inside. “Nighty night, Fall Maiden.” He chuckles sinisterly, walking away from where she was.

Leaving her in the pitch black darkness.

Now...her reasons are understandable for the things she has done.

Because of Fear.

 

**Oscar**

The young Farmhand is stood on the balcony with his arms resting on the stone railing, staring out at the expansive city of Mistral. The many buildings that have been built upon the huge mountains that surround each and every one of them. The eagles that soar around the nesting grounds in the distance, and the distant mountains which must home countless Creatures of Grimm.

The Monsters that live in Anima are nothing like the beasts back in Vale, far more mythical and terrifying, like the Nuckelavee for example. The Mountains are known for the homes of Wyverns, Manticores and other terrible creatures. They can even see the distant Floating Islands of Lake Matsu, where the Gravity Dust sends huge islands into the sky constantly. Massive Airborne Grimm live inside, and beneath in the ocean are countless nightmares.

Oscar cannot begin to count the amount of things that worry him in the back of his mind, especially since none of them understand the torment that Cinder is going through right now. The very lifestyle that has forged her into the woman she has become.

The voice of Ozpin soon returns to the back of Oscar’s mind, whilst everyone else is waking back up and getting changed. He could not rest well anyway, struggling to get used to living this far away from his home. “How are you feeling, Oscar?” Ozpin asks him curiously, in which the young man scoffs.

“What kind of stupid question is that?” Oscar questions with attitude.

“I guess that is understandable.” He admits, and Oscar sighs as he looks down at the city. Wondering what the Mistraalians are doing down there. He can tell that Jaune and the rest of Team J.N.R are getting ready to explore the lower regions of Mistral to help locate Winter. But still...they could be going there because that is where Pyrrha was born, and where Jaune met Pyrrha’s mother.

“It’s weird...” Oscar says with a sigh, his shoulder sinking downwards, then catching Ozpin’s attention.

“How so?” Ozpin asks him curiously, Oscar sighs as he tries to find a good answer to his question.

“All my life...I have been living with my Aunt on that farm...after...well I don’t really know how my parents died. I just know that they never came home one day.” He sighs, his eyes staring down at the floor. Oscar ponders on his parents, because he never did find out what happened to his parents, all he knows is that he was given to his Aunt to look after him. But they never returned, and his Aunt is basically his mother now. “I guess what I’m trying to say is...it’s a little difficult getting used to living this far from home...with people I don’t know.” Oscar explains with sad hazel eyes.

“I sympathise with you on this.” Ozpin assures, but Oscar scoffs.

“I doubt that.” Oscar replies.

“Did you think I was born into greatness? No...I was born on the streets of my home, but I worked hard, made allies and friends that helped me get to where I am now. It was not without hardships, without sacrifices or hard choices...but every skyscraper starts off with small foundations.” Ozpin explains to Oscar, and the young man sighs, he always has so many inspirational statements.

“Do you think they are alive? Out there somewhere?” Oscar asks him.

“I don’t know...if they are...I’m sure they still want to find you again.” Ozpin assures.

“Maybe I can find them some day.” Oscar hopes.

“One day...” Ozpin agrees.

Oscar sighs, his thoughts constantly surrounding the mystery of who his parents are, the things that they have done and whether or not his existence means anything. He would ponder more and more if Ruby did not approach him, to check up on how he is.

“Hey.” Ruby nervously greets.

Oscar turns, smiling gently to the cute Silver Eyed Girl. “Oh, hey.” He replies, caught off guard by her sweet voice that just seems to appear out of nowhere. They both stand there, looking out at the beautiful city of Mistral.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Ruby asks him, then his eyes slyly look at her and he is in awe of her own beauty.

_Is she talking about Mistral or herself?_

He shakes the thought from his head and he answers her, with a very noticeable stammer. “Oh, uh – Y-Yeah!” He agrees with a smile on his face, face turning red from embarrassment. Ozpin’s cheeky chuckle from within his mind does not shed the nervousness he experiences.

“Shut up.” Oscar subconsciously orders, silencing Ozpin.

Ruby looks at him with a smile on her face, as happy and positive as ever. “Ever been to Mistral?” Ruby asks him curiously.

“I was born in Mistral, in the countryside, though.” Oscar says to her. Ruby nods as she begins to understand him.

“Never been to the city, though?” She presumes.

“Nah...my Aunt never did tend to leave the farm for too long.” Oscar says to her.

“Aunt?” Ruby asks, confused since usually that would be the job of the mother or father.

“I was always with her, making sure the crops were being tended to. But I always wanted to do something with my life...I guess I finally am doing that.” Oscar explains to her.

“No mom or dad?" Ruby enquires.

Oscar just shakes his head. “No, I never met her. My Aunt tells me I was only a baby when she took me in. Nobody tells me about what happened to her.” Oscar explains. “But I can probably guess.” He sighs, his head dropping down sadly. He probably has lost his mother to the Grimm or the White Fang, but Sun lost his mother to Hazel because of her Silver Eyes, so maybe there is more to her disappearance than meets the eye.

But Ruby does not go into it since she can tell that it is not really a subject that he likes to talk about it. She smiles a little. “I know how you feel.” Ruby sympathises, Oscar turns to her when she says that.

“What do you mean?” He asks her.

“My mom died on a Bounty Mission years ago, I was only little when it happened...but Yang remembers it better than I do. Our dad shut down for a long time because of it.” Ruby explains to him, and Oscar looks at her with saddened eyes.

“I’m – I’m really sorry.” He apologises, but Ruby just smiles.

“It’s okay...we’ve all lost something. It’s why we’re here...Ren and Nora lost their parents and their homes...Blake and Jaune...well they have both lost something really recently.” She sighs, and Oscar lowers his head, still remembering the explanation of what happened to the three deaths.

The Knights of Grimm are still on all of their minds, unaware of how merciless they really are.

“I kinda feel bad for you.” Ruby says with a nervous laugh, catching his attention.

“Why's that?” He asks.

“Because you really didn't sign up for any of this. Ozpin practically made you.” Ruby says. Oscar listens to the voice in his head that can also here her.

“Remind her that I can hear her.” Ozpin requests, his voice echoing in his mind. Oscar chuckles a little at the ideas of what her reaction will be to that statement.

“He can hear you, remember?” Oscar reminds. Ruby's big eyes widen in shock and her cheeks blush nervously as she gasps.

“Oh! I'm sorry, Professor...never thought I'd say that to someone my age.” Ruby shyly giggles, scratching the back of her head.

“It’s fine.” Ozpin assures, and Oscar says the same thing to her, the two young ones giggling with each other.

Oscar looks back at the landscape. Ruby thinks on the whole thing with Ozpin, and she turns her head to him curiously, her memories returning to how Ozpin let them go to Mountain Glenn despite it being against the rules. “Has he mentioned us beforehand?” Ruby asks him.

“He has on occasion mentioned you.” Oscar says to her. “That being my sarcasm, he talks about you a lot, you in particular because of your eyes.” He says, looking at her silver irises.

“Oh, Professor, you don't have to be so kind.” Ruby jokingly says, batting her hand like she is pushing the idea away from her.

Ozpin's voice sighs in Oscar's head. “You can call me Ozpin, Ruby.” He quietly says. Oscar looks at Ruby after he hears him say that.

“He just said that you can call him Ozpin, not Professor.” Oscar says, like he is dobbing the Professor in on it.

“You're going to regret that.” Ozpin says.

“Really?” She squeaks.

Oscar is in for one hell of an earache, but she is interrupted by Qrow when he walks out from his room. “Come on, we need to find Winter before the Mercs get to her.” Qrow says, holding his Scythe against his shoulder. Team R.W.B.Y assemble and they stand before the Uncle. “R.W.B.Y, check through the markets, J.N.R, check the town, S.S.S.N, I want you guys to check the outskirts. Kassius, Oscar, I want you two with me. We are heading into the middle, in case she is in there. Remember, everyone...there are Mercenaries crawling in Mistral right now. So stay safe, and stay alive.” Qrow advises.

The mission to find Winter has become.

She is here somewhere...

It’s just the biggest Kingdom of all of Remnant...

No biggie.

 

**Cinder**

She lies on the ice cold floor, her arms wrapped around her shoulder, her chest still burning hot and she snivels in shock still, her tears dropping onto the cold hard floor. She remains inside, feeling like she is going to die in here. That is until the door is ripped open and she looks up with a gasp.

Stood in the doorway is Fear.

His glowing gold eyes stare straight into her amber ones, one of them is fainter than the other from the damage Ruby dealt to it. She walks towards Cinder and he grabs her by the back of her head, lifting her off the floor. Fury is stood there as well, growling aggressively. “Please...not again...” Cinder begs.

“Oh no, princess.” Fear snarls, kicking the door shut behind him as he pulls her with him as they walk through the halls. “Salem has something very special planned just for you.” He says. She looks around, seeing Huntsmen skeletons inside the cells where they have been fed to starving Grimm. She shuts her eyes, shuddering at the sight. She limps as she tries to keep up with them. She wraps her arms around her breasts as she walks, feeling extremely vulnerable.

Fury growls in annoyance.

“Why do I have to carry the damned traitor?” Fury barks in annoyance. “Why not toss her in with this lot?” He asks, pointing at one of the cells. Inside are a pack of Beowulves, slashing and barking at her, roaring with scars on their body, thin from a lack of food. "They sure do look hungry, her scorched meat looks real tasty doesn’t it, boys?” Fury says, staring at the savage Beowulves that bark and roar, slashing at the metal bars with their claws, drooling from their lips.

“Salem wants her for herself, has something special in mind apparently.” Fear says, pushing a door open. The door opens and before them is a massive hall with many statues stood up inside. Cinder looks at them all, confused at what she is looking at. Stood inside is Salem, with Death and Loss stood inside to her shoulders.

Death has his blade pointed down into the ground as he looks at her. His helmeted face is closed up, black smoke trailing from his chilling form, glowing red eyes glaring down at Cinder. Fear pushes her into the middle of the room and she rolls onto the floor. She conceals her body parts to them, staying low to the floor, her scars being shown in the light.

Salem stares straight at the young girl and she slowly walks towards her. Fear slams his Scythe down onto the ground, creating a loud boom from doing so, and Fury paces back and forth around the room to do something whilst Salem speaks with the young girl.

Salem crouches down before Cinder who is too afraid to look at her. The naked girl is curled up on the floor, the weakest she has ever been in her entire life most likely. Salem puts her fingers under her chin to lift her head up, revealing the tears of fear in her eyes. “Normally...I would have had a traitor be made an example of and fed to my children.” Salem states to her, with a Beowulf asleep beside her as she strokes the top of its head. “But ultimately, you are our Fall Maiden, so your fate is entirely up to me.” Salem says, pointing her finger to her chest.

“I...I'm already...d-dead, aren’t...aren’t I?." Cinder stammers, shivering on the floor as she lays there.

“Undeniably so.” Salem agrees with an evil smirk on her face. She looks around at the room that they are stood in. “Look around Cinder...tell me, do you know what this place is?” Salem asks as she stands tall, walking forward from where she was sat. Cinder looks up, examining the room, glancing at the statues to think of something.

But nothing comes to mind, mostly because her mind is still focused on the searing pain in her sternum.

“I...I don't know...your grace.” Cinder whimpers in fear, her long black hair covering the side of her face, and calling her by her formal title.

She has never felt more like a minion that right now.

"This is the Final Home of the Onyx Brotherhood on Remnant. Here rests the vanguard of the Onyx Phantom, each warrior carried down from generations." Salem begins, revealing the Onyx Phantom in her explanation, a new name that is completely unfamiliar amongst Cinder and most of Remnant for that matter. "Onyx Warrior was used to battle against those who would stop the progress of evolution – and the Phantom is one of them. A loyal assassin who can destroy of our foes with skill and ease.” Salem describes to her, staring at the many statues before them.

“The destruction of the Silver Eyed Warriors was carried out long before you were ever born, Cinder. This is bigger than I think you realise.” Death explains, which is a massive understatement on Death’s part.

“Even...on my knees...I don't belong here.” She says, knowing that death is what shall become of her, still pressing her palm against her fresh wound on her sternum, covering her breasts with her other arm.

“You failing to kill Ozpin was rightly your error, and you lying to me was unforgivable. But you did kill the woman who was to be the next Fall Maiden, that in itself if a victory. Killing you would have been wasteful, for I know you are no traitor. A disappointment maybe...but not a traitor." Salem explains, but then she turns to Death and he holds out his armoured hand, projecting a ghostly image before them.

"This is the true face of betrayal." She says, revealing an image that catches her off-guard.

 It is Adam Taurus, stood there with Wilt and Blush in his hand.

"The White Fang will learn that we are simply using them and they will, help the Silver Eyed Warrior. Perhaps this girl who scarred you could be able to sway them to unite with Humanity...and that is not something we want." Salem explains. "This traitor and the rest of the White Fang must be destroyed." Salem orders, clenching her hand into a fist, her red eyes glowing red.

“Why bother with me?” Cinder whimpers. "My dress destroyed, I have no semblance...I still do not know how to use my powers yet.” She explains. “I am no Onyx Warrior.” She says to her.

“Not you...no...We have already chosen the next Onyx Phantom, you will join them in stopping this betrayal.” Salem explains.

Cinder looks up, her eyes seeing the armoured figure approaching. The armour is extremely intricate, thousands of armoured pieces connected together that move beautifully with one another, and built into it is a trench coat. There is a mouth plate that covers the person's nose and mouth. And it is clear that it is a woman from the feminine shape of the person and the large almond shaped eyes, but they are glowing orange.

Unnaturally orange.

She has two swords sheathed on her hips that glow red, just like Wilt and Blush and Raven's Sword. But she has two of them instead of one. Every footfall is heavy and metallic, almost like she is a machine. Whoever it is, it is definitely someone new. Her hair is black as well, long and let down instead of being styled.

The trench coat seems to be made out of some sort of fabric metal, one that is as flexible as clothing but is as strong as steel. There is also a rifle strapped to her back, and she wears a dark hood over her head, concealing the rest of her face to hide her identity. Only the orange eyes are visible through the shadows because they glow.

“What of Emerald and Mercury?” Cinder asks her, showing how much she cares about them. Salem looks down at her.

“You will not have to worry, they are fine. I will be taking them with me to Vale soon. The plan is beginning, with the Knights of Grimm returned, we will be able to take Mistral very soon.” Salem assures her with a smirk.

Cinder looks forward as the Seer emerges from the darkness, pulling a casket before her that opens up, revealing something inside, lit up by the light. It is a black dress with red accents across it which is made up of multiple triangular shaped scales over the fabric that glistens gently.

It is a beautiful dress.

She looks at it and then at Salem. "A Fall Maiden requires a dress." Salem says, her hand held out to the Fall Maiden's Dress that has been made for her. If this was a way to get her to put on a new dress, then it is extremely messed up. She looks at it and then she grits her teeth, pushing herself to her feet.

She continues to conceal herself, but the closer to the dress she gets, the braver and stronger she becomes, lowering her arms and walking more confidently towards it, the light glowing against her skin, showing the scar on her sternum clearly now, the hand print against her skin as a constant reminder.

She picks up the dress and she looks at it, the glistening reflection of the light twinkles off the dress. She unzips it and puts it on, there are no sleeves to it like the last one and the dress stops just above her knees, like her original red dress. This is very similar to that dress as well. She takes the zip and pulls it upwards, over the front of her body, concealing her body and the scars dealt to her from the world. The Onyx Phantom glares at her as she stands there. She pauses for a moment, her eyes shut. Then they open as she turns to Salem.

“What would you have your Fall Maiden do?” She asks, her voice fully returned now. She scowls slightly, no more smirking on her expression anymore.

This is a new Cinder.

One that is afraid and angry.

 

Hours later...

Cinder has been given her new task.

A bullhead roars across the sapphire oceans of Remnant, Sea Dragons patrolling the depths with other terrifying and mysterious Creatures of Grimm. And they are all headed towards Anima, something is coming for Mistral and it will be just as formidable as the Fall of Beacon.

Perhaps even worse.

The rotatable thrusters billow energy from their afterburners, parting the water underneath its roar. Inside the Aircraft is Cinder, holding her Glass Bow in her hands, twirling an arrow in her fingers as she stares at it. She looks up, hearing a man speaking to a bunch of men. Inside are armed and armoured soldiers, ones that are serving Salem. As long as she needs them for at least. The soldiers wear black and red armour with golden accents in different areas of the armour, wielding rifles.

Some look different to each other, with massive tech heavy backpacks built into their suits with yellow dust glowing inside of it. Others wear massive suits of armour, exo-suits most likely to make them even stronger than humanly possible.

They all stand to attention as a man walks around them. He wears armour similar to them with slightly spiked back brown hair and a scar on his forehead. He has the same tattoo on his neck the Acolytes of Lien have, meaning that he is definitely one of them. He has a strong and calculated presence about him, having a mace strapped to his leg for combat and a sub machine gun in his other hand. “Together, we were once all in the same boat!” He begins to the men. “Which one was that?” He asks, giving a military style speech to them, which does make Cinder roll her eyes. She looks to the other side of the vehicle, seeing Tyrian sat there, barely keeping his eyes open as he listens to the man speak to his men.

“A boat of pity and poverty!” The men all recite in unison, their voices erupting inside.

“That's right, and that is why we serve Salem. She promises us to be free of the world of pain and being abandoned, as does the man who pays us. Those who turn against those who pay us, or are allies to our enemies, are enemies themselves. Therefore...we show them no mercy, we kill them on sight.” The man continues to his men.

"Their lives are forfeit, and will join the pit of suffering we rose from!” They all roar in united voices. The man stands before them all, clenching his hand into a fist.

“And one day we will stand above those who pushed us down, and we will let them taste the pain we endured!” He concludes with a cheer in his voice.

The Acolytes of Lien are mercenaries who will blindly serve anyone who pays them enough money. Cinder could tell that was what that whole speech was about in the first place, just jazzed up to sound like they are a military. But at the end of the day, they are all still thugs, no matter how much they try to hide it.

Cinder sits there, feeling like the odd one out here, and not because she is a girl because there are women Mercs here as well. Because she is not a soldier, she is a Fall Maiden. The spokesman approaches Cinder, holding onto the ceiling to counter the turbulence that they are facing. "So you are the infamous Fall Maiden, huh?” He asks her, curiously raising his eyebrow as he stares down at her.

"What’s it to you?” Cinder questions, looking at the bow in her hand still, not even looking up at him.

"You’re hotter than I imagined, I wonder if maybe you and I could hook up later tonight?” He asks her, crouching down and caressing her cheek. Cinder suddenly grabs him by the throat, standing up, lifting him off the ground and staring into his eyes. And that shows the difference between mercenaries and soldiers, the soldiers here would have drawn their firearms on her.

But because she is working for the ones that pay them...none of them even bat an eyelid. “I wouldn’t even dream of it, scumbag.” Cinder growls with rage in her voice. Cinder glares back at him with her only remaining eye.

The Mercenary strains, grabbing her arm as he writhes around in her tight grasp, trying to break free. “Alright! I yield!” He gives in, and Cinder releases him.

He collapses to the ground, grabbing his throat with distress, coughing as Cinder sits back down, and he stumbles away from her. One of the Mercenaries was eyeing Cinder up but now he has looked away. “Let that be a warning to all of you.” She advises, crossing one of her legs over the other.

The Mercenaries all keep their eyes away from Cinder. She then looks over at Tyrian again who crosses one leg over the other as he looks at her, his tail next to him. The stinger is slowly growing back over time. Cinder looks away from Tyrian, back to her bow that she ended Pyrrha's life with, and Amber's...

The Bullhead approaches the docks of Mistral, they must have spent hours sat there, but they finally arrive there. The Bullhead decelerates and hovers at the outer gates of Mistral, dropping in altitude. The troop bay doors slide open, the soldiers jump out of the Bullhead and they start heading towards the place. Tyrian and Cinder jump out of the Bullhead, landing down on the ground. “Acolytes of Lien, secure this area!” The spokesman orders.

Cinder stands tall as Tyrian stands next to her, extending his wrist blades out. She connects her arrow to the bow and she walks onward.

Cinder is here...


	13. Searching for Winter

**Jaune**

Unaware that the murderer of the woman he adored is here...

He, Nora and Ren walk through the streets of Mistral, searching for Winter. Jaune clutches onto the hilt of Crocea Mors, the gleam of the sun reflects off its metal blade. He is the only one with his weapon drawn since he is at the front. Nora and Ren walk side to side behind Jaune. Nora looks up at Ren and he looks at her with a small smile. They have been concerned about Jaune recently; being here is hurting him deeply, being in the hometown of Pyrrha.

He just walks and walks, not saying a word. “Well...I guess we are team Junior after all!” Nora says, trying to help lighten the mood. But when she says that, Jaune stops walking and he turns to stare straight at her with anger in his eyes.

"We are always Juniper!" He shouts in anger at her, which makes Nora recoil slightly at his sudden outburst. Ren steps in front of her.

"Jaune?" Nora quietly asks.

"You need to calm down, Jaune." Ren states.

Jaune looks right at Ren and he scoffs.

"Me?" He exclaims, pressing his own hand against his chest plate. He then points right at Ren. "What about you?" He questions which makes Ren raise an eyebrow. "When we fought the Nuckelavee, you were acting like a damn idiot!" He shouts. Ren stands there, letting him yell like that, despite what the Nuckelavee took from him.

"That was different, Jaune." Ren says, showing little emotion in his face as he says that.

"The hell it isn't! Just because Pyrrha is gone, it doesn't mean that we cut her out of the team. She will always be a part of us. She'll always be a part of me." Jaune says to her, tears welling up in his eyes. Ren stands there, looking at Jaune.

"That's no reason to shout at her like that." Ren states.

"Then why the jokes?" He barks in annoyance at her.

"Because I can see that you're hurt, Jaune!" Nora retorts over Ren's shoulder. "And someone has to try and make you smile, and I trust me...I know that she will always be a part of us." Nora says to him. Jaune looks at her with confusion in her eyes. "And Qrow asked me to keep the mood all cheery when he was poisoned, you know? Because he was worried about you. The uncle of a Silver Eyed warrior is worried about you." Nora says with a scoff. "And he expects me to help you."

"I appreciate it, Nora, but I'm fine." Jaune declares.

"The hell you are. We've all heard you sobbing, Jaune. Ruby has seen you wandering off on your own every night when we are sleeping to listen to that recording that she sent you." Nora explains. "You think that's gonna help?" She asks him. "I think about her every single day, and I miss her so much. But I will not let her death control me, I want to remember her the way she lived, not the way that she died." Nora says to Jaune. Jaune stares at her, which leads to a shaky sigh.

"I can't let her go..." He says, shutting his tear filled eyes. "You still...don't get it...do you?" He questions as he looks right at them. They both look at the damaged boy. "All my life...I only wanted to help people, to be a Huntsman. But everyone turned me away, because I was weaker than them all, my own parents were opposed to the idea. She was the only person who believed in me. And I couldn't save her from Cinder! I couldn't save Penny! Or even Yang! I couldn't stop Adam from cutting her arm off! What kind of man does that make me?" Jaune questions, swinging his arms around in anger at himself, blaming himself for everything as he always does. "I'm no Huntsman..." He weakly says, looking down at the floor.

"So what?" Nora challenges with a shrug of her shoulders. Jaune looks at her confused.

"Huh?" Jaune mumbles as he looks at the short orange haired girl with a beaming smile on her little face.

"So what if no one believed in you before. Look at you now, Jaune. You are family to us all. Last night when we were all around that fire? That is what life looks like, not what you are staying in." Nora says to him, showing the truth of what he needs in his life.

"We'll never forget Pyrrha, Jaune. She will always be a part of this family." Ren says to him, putting his hand on his shoulder. Jaune stands there, letting out a sigh as he loosens his arms. But when smiles at him, his eyes then look past Jaune and then he gasps in shock.

The infernal being, coated in a skin of flames stands in the distance, the glowing orange balls of fire for eyes staring straight at them. He clenches his burning hands into fists, turning and walking into one of the alleys. Fury was stood right there. "Ren? What is it?" Jaune enquires. Ren runs past Jaune and Jaune's eyes follow him. Nora and Jaune run after him, confused to see what he is running after. Ren sprints past people, pushing past them as he looks for Fury. Ren gets to the alley where Fury would have been.

And he is gone, but then he looks at the floor. The charred footprint of Fury remains in the floor where he was stood. Jaune and Nora finally catch up to him. "Ren?" Nora asks, putting her hand on his back.

"What the hell was that about?" Jaune asks.

"I saw him." Ren says to them both.

"Who?" Nora asks.

"Fury...the Knight that killed Blake's parents...he was here." Ren says to them, then only at this moment do they begin to catch onto something.

"If he was there the whole time..." Nora realises, looking at Jaune.

"That's why I got angry..." He says with realisation in his tone, leaning against the wall, pressing his hand against his head. "How do we fight something that can worm its way into your head without even fighting you?" Jaune groans with a little bit of fear in his voice. He even starts to look around when he feels that emotion coming over him, looking for the Knight of Fear in case he is staring at them as well.

"They're trying to tear us apart...and attract Grimm here like they did at Menagerie..." Ren realises. Nora groans, kicking her foot into the floor.

"Remember the good old days? When things were simple, like eating pancakes and killing Grimm? I miss those days." Nora moans.

"So do I..." Jaune groans.

 

Team J.N.R leave the place where he was watching them, to continue on with their search for Winter Schnee. They walk through the village, keeping their eyes peeled for her. "Surely a Schnee can't be hard to miss." Nora says with a huff, looking under a pallet as she walks past it. Jaune chuckles a little.

"They do tend to stand out." Jaune says. But as they walk, they all stop when Jaune stops. He holds the hilt of his sheathed sword and he crouches down after noticing something on the floor. A red stain of blood, it is at most a day old. Ren walks over and looks at it. He then looks across the path. "Trail..." Ren says to Jaune. Jaune nods to Ren and they ready their weapons. Nora grabs Magnhild and it transforms into hammer form into her hand, pink dust flowing through the weapon. Ren readies both Stormflowers and Jaune draws his sword and holds his shield as they follow the trail of blood. One that hopefully belongs to Winter.

"If that belongs to her...it means she has been attacked." Jaune points out.

"Mercenaries?" Nora suggests.

"From what Weiss told us, sounds like Mercenaries are hunting them both." Ren says to them both, his pale pink eyes checking the area for any hints. He is just like his father in the sense that he has the senses of a hunter. He keeps his fingers off the triggers but near them in case they are attacked by any Acolytes. Nora and Ren get close to the house that is turning, where the trail continues.

On the other side are a couple of Acolytes, walking down the street with rifles hidden in their trench coats. Nora smirks deviously as she holds Magnhild tight, ready to break their legs. But Ren puts his hand against her to stop her. "We can't risk it, too many civilians." Ren whispers. Jaune turns and he points into one of the alleyways that are nearby for them to hide.

The two soldiers walk through and then Ren grabs them by their heads and smashes their heads together, knocking them both unconscious. Their bodies crumple to their floor with their groans. Ren drags them both by their ankles into the alley to leave them there; Jaune grabs a dirty blanket and covers them with it, just to prevent arousing suspicion.

"Sweet dreams." Jaune whispers. They emerge from the alley again, following the trail again. But when they do, they see the blood trail disappear. Either because Winter patched herself up or because she ran off. Ren looks at where it stopped and then he looks at the floor. He crouches down, picking up an empty and used bullet cartridge on the floor. Ren's eyes swivel to Jaune.

"There was conflict here." Ren reports from his analysis.

"Well, there'd be more blood if she was killed." Jaune states, crouching down beside Ren, looking at where the trail was. Nora observes the buildings around her to find a clue and then her large aqua coloured eyes fixate on a little clue on the building. There is a faint stain of blood on it. She gasps and then turns to her partner.

"Ren!" Nora hails. Ren looks at her and then follows her finger that is pointing up at the bloodstain on the wall, which looks like it is moving upwards, to the rooftop. Only then do they notice some bullet holes in the building as well. Ren smiles to Nora.

"Good catch." Jaune says to her. They follow the trail that must be Winter, climbing and jumping up the building to get to the top. As they get to the top, however, they find a used bandage on the floor with crimson blood staining it. It was left here for a day at most. Ren sighs.

"Well at least she patched herself up." Nora says, taking a shred of goo out of this. Before they set out, Kassius gave them all some small earpieces that have short-range radios built into them. They are able to cover the city itself but no further than they. Jaune presses his finger against the button on it.

"Weiss? It's Jaune, we found a blood trail, and it might have been Winter. But it stops on this roof, we found a used bandage up here, I think she changed it up here. The trail stops here." Jaune reports.

Meaning she is ahead of them, and possibly closer to Team R.W.B.Y.

If she is still alive.

They need to find her as fast as they can.

 

**Ruby**

Weiss listens to his voice on her end of the radio. She looks at Ruby who is also listening. "Okay, thanks Jaune. Stay safe." Weiss replies to him as she stands in the street. Yang is stood there with her hand on her hip and Blake holds Gambol Shroud in her hand, looking around.

"Ha, no promises." Jaune says, hanging up on the call. Weiss takes her finger from the earpiece and she turns to the rest of the team. Ruby takes point, holding Crescent Rose in her hands and Yang walks next to her. Weiss looks at Ruby.

"He's become quite capable since I last saw him." Weiss says to Ruby.

"Yep, you should have seen him when we were fighting the Nuckelavee, he helped out a lot." Ruby says to her. Blake looks at the buildings of Mistral, very similar to Menagerie from the beautiful architectural side of it.

"I never really realised how beautiful Mistral truly is." Blake says in awe as she looks at it, the sun shining off the water as it falls down the cliffs of Mistral. The people are also just as beautiful, a shame that this place is infected with a disease of evil. "It's good to just take it all in for a moment." Blake says, breathing in the fresh air to keep her mind off Fury, since now they know that they are attracted to the emotions of which they are bound. The last thing they need is for either of the Knights to show up right now.

"So Weiss, anything you know about where Winter would be? I mean she's your sister." Yang says, looking around for her.

"I honestly don't know, I rarely ever see her. And the few times I do, she is always there on business." Weiss explains.

"Well, I doubt she'll expect to see you looking for her." Ruby says with a little laugh. Weiss giggles as well.

"Yeah, I bet that will be a big surprise for her. I just want to know why my father is ordering them to kill her." Weiss sighs, makes sense to ask a question like that as well, since the other Mercenaries tried to take Weiss alive when Neptune was getting her out of there. Weiss holds Myrtenaster in her hand, looking around. But then when they are walking through, she stops, bumping into Blake.

"Hey!" Blake calls out, stumbling back.

Weiss' eyes widen in disbelief of who she sees.

"Is it Winter?" Yang asks.

"No..." Weiss says.

Walking down the street is the man with the combed blue hair and a fancy jacket on, over his shirt underneath. He walks and there are some Acolytes of Lien walking with him, holding rifles clearly as they walk. But then they all stop when he sees Weiss, his eyes widen in disbelief. "Henry..." Weiss snarls as she sees him. "He's the one who sold me out!" Weiss realises, pointing right at him.

"Crap, shoot her!" Henry yells, fleeing from the scene, the Mercenaries lift up the firearms and they open fire on them, the gunfire terrifies the civilians, making them scream and scatter. One bullet strays off and clips a civilian in the arm, making him cry out in agony, but the Mercenaries don't care. They do not seem to give a damn about civilian casualties. Team R.W.B.Y hide behind cover, seeing the live rounds missing.

"Live rounds?" Weiss gasps in disbelief.

"I guess that goodbye was pretty final." Yang says, remembering the conversation they had with Jacques.

"Well, let's go catch Henry." Ruby says with a smirk.

"Go Team R.W.B.Y!" Yang cheers.

Henry takes off running, barging through civilians. Team R.W.B.Y are pinned down by Acolytes of Lien who are shooting at them, the crowd begin to part to avoid being killed in the crossfire. Yang thrusts her fist upwards to load Ember Celica, a fresh cartridge entering the chamber. "What the hell's going on? I can hear those gunshots from here?" Sun asks in a worried tone of voice.

Ruby transforms Crescent Rose into Rifle Mode so then she can shoot the soldiers. Weiss spins Myrtenaster through her fingers, holding her finger forward as she forms a glyph behind her that can shoot ice shards at them. Finally Blake readies Gambol Shroud into pistol form. Blake reaches to her ear, answering Sun's hail.

"We're fine! We've just bumped into some guy who might have some info on Winter." Blake says.

"And the gunfire?" Sun asks.

"Just some Mercs, nothing we can't handle." Blake assures.

"You sure you don't need help?" He asks.

Ruby dives out from cover, firing a round that clips the soldier's leg, blood spraying from the back of his leg, splattering against the floor behind him. Ruby launches forward in petal form, slashing Crescent Rose as she transforms it into Scythe Mode, beheading the soldier as she zooms past him, a jet of blood erupting from his head. The head flies into the air and bounces on the floor.

The head rolls next to the other soldier, causing him to freak out. Weiss arches her arm up, pointing the tip of Myrtenaster at the soldier which forms a glyph under her feet, making her glide across the floor at great speeds. She drives the pointed blade of her sword directly through the heart of the soldier, pushing him into the ground and the blade pushes through his back and into the soil, killing him instantly. She turns to Blake and she nods. Blake smiles.

"Nope." Blake assures after seeing that. The four girls start running after where they last saw him. Weiss turns a corner, looking around constantly to see if she can recognise him, but there are terrified people everywhere. But whilst they all stand there, Yang's eyes widen when she hears the sound of tyres screeching extremely loudly in the distance.

Yang starts sprinting and the others follow after her, cars weren't something that they expected to see at Mistral, but as the turn the corner there is a road network in the city, one that leads to many bridges like the one back home. I guess they can't expect to live on foot all the time. The car has Henry inside, Weiss can see his stupid hair from back there.

"No!" Weiss shouts in anger.

"Hey, we're not out of this yet." Yang says, running over to a parked car with someone inside it. She knocks on the window and the driver looks at Yang. "Hey, could we borrow this?" She asks him politely asks. The very sight of seeing four armed Huntresses is the reason he nods and agrees. He unlocks and opens the door, stepping out with his hands held up. Ruby sits in the seat next to Yang.

"Shotgun!" Ruby squeaks.

"Huh?" Weiss asks as she gets in the back seat.

"We'll explain later. " Yang assures after Blake gets in the back, rolling the window open to fire her pistol at the car. Two soldiers lean out the windows of the car to shoot at the car that they have just borrowed. Yang starts the ignition and accelerates off, pursuing after the car that has their target in it. Yang has her foot down on the throttle and hands on the steering wheel, swerving through the traffic that is in their way. Yang keeps both eyes fixed on the car that holds Marigold.

"We need to catch him, Yang." Weiss pushes as she looks at the car.

"We'll catch him." Yang promises.

Suddenly the soldiers start to shoot at them with their rifles, the bullets pierce through the glass and one of them clips Yang's hair, ripping some of it off. As if time stopped, her shock at this makes her even more angry. "Oh...you just messed up, kick their butts, guys!" Yang says as she drives closer and closer to the back of the car. Blake leans out the car, shooting her pistol attachment of Gambol Shroud at the car in front of them, her black hair blowing in the wind.

The soldier ducks back into the car when the bullets come whooshing towards him, hitting the paint job on the metal car's hide. The bullets fracture the metal in places, pieces of metal and paint comes flying off the car. The soldier gets back into the car, taking the magazine from the feed of his rifle and replacing it with a fresh new one, cocking it into position. He immediately swings out the door again to fight them. He pulls the trigger of his rifle all the way, constant muzzle flash erupting from the barrel as the bullets dart towards her. Blake rolls her eyes as she takes cover in the car again.

"This is taking too long." Blake groans.

Weiss looks at her with a confused look on her face. "What are you-" Before she can finish, Blake kicks the door open and she climbs onto the roof of the car. Weiss is left speechless as Blake gets on the roof. She runs towards a car driving alongside them and she lands on the roof. The other soldier does the exact same thing, getting on the roof of their car to get a better shot on her.

Blake shoots her pistol at him and he keeps moving around to avoid the bullets. Yang looks at Blake and she drives closer to her in case if she needs a new ride. Ruby opens the car door, using it as cover and she holds onto it with her hand, and in the other she holds Crescent Rose in rifle form as she aims at the soldier. She hooks the firing lever on the door and she pulls the rifle back, firing a bullet straight at him.

The bullet hits him in the side of his torso, making him scream in agony and blood squirts from his flank. He staggers and then falls from the car into traffic. The body smashes straight into a bus, getting mulched by the wheels. Ruby shudders at the gory sight and Blake steps back on the car she has been hitching a ride on, then she jumps onto another vehicle.

She looks behind them to see a big armoured truck charging up behind them. "Yang, behind you!" Blake yells. Yang looks into the interior mirror and her lilac eyes widen in shock when she sees the truck driving after them. The top opens and there is a soldier with a machine gun attached to the top of it. The vehicle has the same symbol engraved on the armoured metal skin that the other Mercenaries have on their neck, still the Acolytes of Lien that are coming after them.

Blake continues to run across the bus that she landed on the roof of, firing her pistol at the armoured truck. Weiss rolls the window open and now she is leaning out, forming a glyph to attack the truck. She launches a huge chunk of ice at the vehicle, hitting it in the wheel but it has little effect. The Armoured Truck rams into the back of the car that they are in the crash them, but it only makes the car begin to spin out, screeches from the tyres as it spins out of control. The Armoured Beast charges towards the bus that Blake is stood atop, filled with innocent civilians.

"Blake!" Yang screams.

Blake looks at the truck and she nearly is thrown from the bus as it smashes into the side of the bus. It dents the metal but it doesn't dent the truck or flip the bus over. Blake stumbles off the bus and she catches onto the edge, holding on. She looks into the glass, seeing both Faunus and Human civilians inside that are terrified. She smiles at them and waves, but then she turns back to the truck behind her. The armoured door opens since it replaced most of the windows with armour plating. The mercenaries inside aim their rifles at her and they open fire.

They have no regard for the loss of life at all here, and Blake warns them to stay down. She avoids the bullets by swinging her body around elegantly. She aims her pistol at the soldier and retaliates. She nails him in the head with a bullet and he falls out the truck, into oncoming traffic, one of the cars being Yang. She shoots at the other soldiers that are shooting at her, including the guy on the machine gun. Time almost seems to slow down when the truck goes to ram into her again.

She swings her legs upwards to avoid losing them from the armoured bonnet as it attempts to crush her or flip the bus. The bus rocks but it does not flip. Blake sighs, pushing her feet against the body of the bus so then she leaps at the truck. She lands onto the bonnet of the truck and she kicks the window in, smashing it completely. Blake reaches in, grabbing the driver by the throat and launches him from the driver's seat. The driver screams as he sails through the air before hitting a traffics sign mid-flight, silencing his screams.

Blake's attention now turns to the edge of the bridge where the truck is veering towards. "Blake!" Yang calls, driving up beside her in the car that they took. Blake runs to the car and leaps, landing on the roof, holding on for dear life. The truck smashes against the concrete railing, shattering the guardrail and the vehicle corkscrews in the air as it plummets down to the bottom with a loud metallic crash. Blake opens the door that she left from and she gets back inside.

"Hey guys." Blake says with a smile. Weiss laughs at her amazing skills.

"I remember why I love you girls." She says with a big smile.

"That was bad-ass!" Yang cheers. Blake smiles at them after doing that. They drive up to the car and Ruby opens her car door, ripping the car's door off with the scythe. The driver panics and Yang points Ember Celica at him as Ruby ducks, firing a shell into his head. Ruby jumps inside of the car and she grabs Henry by the collar.

"Can we have a word?" Ruby asks him.

Henry looks at her with a worried expression. "If we survive this." Henry says with wide eyes. Ruby turns when he says that, after taking out the driver, his arm pushed against the steering wheel of the car and the car is about to go off the edge. The car smashes through the railing and it plummets down into the Favela-like markets of Mistral.

The car crashes and rolls across the dirt path. Luckily no one got hurt. Henry groans, blood leaking from his head and he opens the car door from the smoking car. Ruby pushes the door open, her aura is flickering slightly as she climbs out. Ruby looks around and she just gets a glimpse of him running into the village. Yang lands down beside Ruby, holding her by her shoulders.

"Are you okay?" Yang asks in the most concerned tone.

"I'm fine, he's running that way." Ruby says, pointing to the market. Weiss floats down as she uses her glyphs to get down without ending up with her knees in her throat. Blake uses the chain scythe to swing down beside them. She lands down, pushing her hand to the floor as she lands, looking at Ruby.

"You alright? That was one hell of a fall." Blake says with a smile.

"Yeah..." Ruby assures. "Come on, Henry went this way." Ruby says, running after where she saw him. They all start pursuing him into the markets, and as always, there are people everywhere. Yang groans, rolling her eyes.

"I wish we could have asked Pyrrha about how busy it is here." Yang says sarcastically.

"I doubt even she could stay calm here." Weiss says with a laugh. They all look around for him, hopefully a fleeing guy like him shouldn't be that hard to find. Weiss looks at the stalls to see if he is hiding there, but he is not in there at all. She gently pushes by people to get through the crowd. "Excuse me." She politely says as she passes through.

"Ruby, we should take the higher ground." Blake says to her. Ruby nods and they both head for the higher ground. Ruby shoots Crescent Rose into the ground, using the recoil to launch herself onto the roof of a house, whilst Blake throws the chain scythe at the building to swing up onto the roof. They both look around, squinting to try and see him. Ruby scratches her black and red hair.

"Come on...where are you?" Ruby mumbles, using her owl-like silver eyes to find Henry in the crowd. He was limping so he can't be that hard to spot. Yang walks through the crowd, pushing through to make a path.

"How's it coming?" Sun asks through the radio.

"We're looking for him, he ran into a crowd..." Blake reports.

"Who is it?" Sun asks.

"A guy called Henry Marigold, Weiss has met him before. We think he might be the informant." Blake tells him.

"What does he look like?" Sun asks.

"Combed over blue hair, imagine a crossbreed of Neptune and Scarlet." Weiss describes which makes the full team laugh, even making Sun laugh.

"Wait, huh?" Neptune questions.

"Best I can do." Weiss says.

"Alright...We'll keep an eye open." Sun assures.

They continue to look for Henry, observing the town for a good look of the guy. But whilst they look, Blake hears something in one of the houses, the sound of something crashing down, which makes one of her ears point in the direction she heard it. Blake quietly peeps inside the room to find out where she heard it from. Suddenly there's a gunshot and it clip's Blake's cat ear. She cries out in pain, blood leaking from where it just nicked her ear. She staggers into Ruby's arms and she stands back up, recovering immediately. Inside was Henry and he is now running again, wielding a handgun.

"He's up here!" Blake yells. Weiss and Yang nod to each other. Weiss creates two glyphs for them both, glyphs that launch them up like catapults onto the roof that Blake and Ruby were just on to pursue him. They sprint after him, clambering onto the rooftops of the buildings. He is running and jumping across different buildings to stay in pace with him. He is pretty fast for an informant. They all run with their weapons put away to stay in pace. Yang looks at Blake and she can see the red blood leaking from where the bullet clipped her ear, the damage is not bad at all, but worth concern.

"Blake, he shot your ear!" Yang points out.

"Yeah, tell me something I don't know!" Blake says, ignoring the searing pain in her ear as she chases after him. As they run, Yang hears a familiar voice nearby. Her attention turns to one of the upper rooftops, as Kassius is running across them as well.

"Is this the guy?" Kassius yells as he runs across them.

"Yeah! Where are Oscar and Qrow?" Yang yells as she runs after him, looking back at him at times.

"Down there!" Kassius says, pointing to the lower levels.

"Keeping an eye down here in case he makes a run for it!" Qrow says, out of breath as he tries to keep up with them and Henry. Yang watches as Kassius starts flanking Henry to try and catch him. Henry turns round as he runs, firing his pistol back at Team R.W.B.Y, narrowly missing Weiss as he shoots at her. He jumps across the alley and he lands on one of the other roofs where there are other buildings.

He fires his pistol at them repeatedly until he empties the magazine, throwing it on the ground behind him as he runs. He is now picking up the pace, his fear controlling him as he runs. Ahead is a Bullhead that is hovering before him. Yang's eyes widen in anger.

"No! He's gonna get away!" Yang yells, sounding extremely desperate to stop him, Henry is running right to the open Bullhead that hovers before him.

"No he's not." Kassius says from out of the blue.

As Henry runs, his head turns when he sees Kassius suddenly sprinting at him from his left, leaping through the window at him and tackling him off the building. He smashes him straight into a pile of trash and he presses his armoured boot against his chest. The Bullhead takes off and flies away, clearly not overly concerned about him since they have just ditched Henry to us. Kassius points his two Gauntlet Pistols at his face, cocking them with the forward thrust of his forearms. Henry groans but he holds his hands up as surrender.

"End of the line, pretty boy." Kassius says to him with a smirk. Qrow points his sword at Henry and the rest of Team R.W.B.Y surround him. Weiss crouches down beside him.

"Guys, we've got Marigold." Qrow says into his earpiece.

"Wanna try and break the ice, Marigold?" Weiss asks him with a smile and a tilt of the head to make him feel embarrassed.

 

**Yang**

Yang pushes Henry into a chair in a dark room. He groans in pain, blood leaking from a gash on his forehead made from the car crash. She crosses her arms and looks down at him. Henry looks at her and he smirks. "Hey, pretty lady...Wanna have some fun?" Henry asks her, alluding to some situations that make Yang nearly gag from imagining spending any time with a guy like him. So, as an answer, she grabs his hand with her cybernetic one and twists it, making an audible crunch that makes him cry out in pain from it. She immediately lets him go and she puts her hand on her hip as she smile sat him.

"Actually...I am having fun right now, since you asked." Yang says to him. Henry groans.

"Wasn't...what I meant..." He groans in pain, looking at his bruised hand.

"I knew what you meant, buddy-boy." Yang assures him, she then leans forward and looks him in the eyes. "But I'm your good cop, so you best be nice to me." Yang says to him with a wink and a pretty smile. Henry looks at her with pained eyes.

"Who's the bad cop?" Henry asks. Suddenly a blade emerges from the darkness and presses right against his jugular, the cold steel makes his eyes widen in fear and an audible gasp emerge from his lips. Kassius leans into the light by his ear.

"That'd be me." Kassius answers, patting his head after taking the blade from his neck. He walks in front of Yang when she steps back and to his side. He flicks his wrist downwards and his sword shifts. The blade is made up of six individual pieces of metal magnetised together that fold away into the blade. With the flick of the wrists, either up or down, causes the blade to fold. By flicking downwards, it folds away.

"You like that? I call them Lash Equinox." Kassius tells him. He holds the hilt in his hand. He then shows his Gauntlet Firearms to him, four barrels in them, each with a magazine cartridge loaded into them. "And these are called Vulcan Nox." Kassius says to him with a smirk on his face. Henry looks a lot more afraid now, of which he should be, since these two are so much alike that they were practically made for each other. "Made them myself." He says as he walks around.

He looks down at Henry and he crosses his arms, before walking to his side. "Yang's better at the talking side than I am." He says. Henry looks at the beautiful blonde with fear in his eyes.

"You're all mine pretty boy." Yang says in a seductive voice as she approaches him. She crouches down to look at him in the light.

"What do you want?" He stammers.

"Why'd you feed info to Jacques Schnee?" Yang asks. Henry scoffs.

"I don't know what you’re talking about." He says.

"You sure?" Yang asks. Henry scowls at her and he gathers saliva in his mouth, discharging a gob of spit into her cheek. She flinches slightly and she stands up, wiping it from her cheek from disgust. She nods at Kassius and Kassius punches him straight in the gut with his Cybernetic Arm.

"You want to test me, son?" Kassius growls into his ear. He grabs him by the hair and presses the blade of Lash Equinox against his throat, ready to slit his throat if he must. Yang puts her hand up to let him cool down. He steps away from him and puts the sword into the floor with a loud bang.

"Sorry, my friend over there can get pretty mad whenever people tend to disrespect me like that." Yang warns, playing with a bit of his hair after that. Kassius stands in the dark with his arms crossed.

"Why's that?" Henry scoffs. "You his girlfriend or something?"

Yang looks at Kassius and he just shrugs, letting her come up with something. "Something like that." She says to him. Henry scoffs.

"Then one of you is gonna get killed. Jacques Schnee will use every advantage he can get to win. He always wins." Henry says.

"Well, we intend on changing that." Kassius states.

"So what, you got anger issues? Let's test that, hey girl I wanna rock your world so hard that you'll start crying." He says which makes Kassius' eye twitch.

"You really shouldn't be testing his patience, pal..." Yang sighs. "Just tell us what we want to know." Yang says.

"I promise you that you'll have fun." Henry continues, trying to test Kassius. Yang rolls her eyes and she steps away from him. Kassius walks up to him and punches him in his hand so hard with his cybernetic hand that it breaks the hand completely with a loud bony crunch. He cries out in agony from the impact of his metal fist against his hand, a little blood leaking from where the skin has been broken. Yang turns to him again with crossed arms.

"We have all day, you know Henry. But if you keep this up, you won't be living through the hour. Now answer the question." Yang demands as she walks back to him. Henry stammers in pain after feeling his hand be broken like that.

"He told me to..." Henry stammers.

"Why?" Yang drills.

"Control...he wants information on where they both are so then he can have them captured back home at Atlas...so they can't cause any...anymore trouble." He says, pausing every now and then from the sharp pains in his broken hand that pulsate up his arm and into his body. Sweat beads from his skin.

"What about the Acolytes? Why are they hunting them?" Yang asks.

"They're mercenaries, he paid their leader." Henry weakly answers.

"Darren Ortega..." Kassius snarls as he hears him just mention him.

"You know him?" Yang asks.

"Bumped into him on occasion, not to be trifled with." Kassius answers.

"Alright...where's Winter?" Yang asks him.

Henry looks at her, and a scoff ejects from his mouth at her. "A couple months away, sweetheart." He says, trying to make a pun. Yang just sighs, shaking her head as she stands up, which signals Kassius to go a step further. Kassius grabs the hilt of a dagger sheathed on his belt and he stabs it straight into Henry's kneecap. Henry gasps in pain, freezing for a moment in silence from pain, then he grits his teeth together. Henry lets out a gut-wrenching howl of a scream from the pain, blood rupturing out from the wound as it drips down his leg.

"I'm all for puns, but it's all about the timing of the puns. That was not good." Yang says, shaking her head and speaking like an expert to him. She looks down at him. "Want it to get worse?" Yang asks him. Henry whimpers in pain and he just shakes his head without uttering a word. "So answer the question." Yang advises.

"She was last seen in the Upper Markets, our soldiers had her but she got away, but she was wounded, bleeding out." Henry says. Yang puts her finger against the earpiece on her ear.

"Sun? Did you hear that?" Yang asks him as she stands there, listening for his reply.

"Yep, but night's on the way. We should do this quick." Sun says. "We'll look for her." Sun says to her.

"Thanks, stay safe." Yang asks.

"Always." Sun assures, ending the call.

"They won't get to her in time." Henry states. Yang looks at him with a confused expression.

"Why?" Yang asks. Henry looks at her with scared eyes, looking around.

"She comes in the night..." He stammers. Yang looks at Kassius and then at Henry with bewilderment in their faces.

"Who does?" Yang presses as she walks over to him. Henry looks at her.

"The Onyx -" Suddenly there is a deafeningly loud bang and a shell comes shooting through the building and through his back. His body ruptures forward with blood erupting from his chest, then a second shot hits and hits him right in the heart. His body slumps forward with blood leaking from his lips and his body sits there, lifeless in that chair. Yang's eyes widen in horror and Kassius staggers back. The bullet missed him and Yang by about an inch and blood starts pooling from his body.

The doors burst open, Ruby, Weiss and Blake are stood there and Weiss looks at the corpse of Henry in the chair and the two bullet holes in the wall where he got assassinated. Blake has a small bandage on her ear with a faint red mark where it is stopping the bleeding where she got hit by his bullet. Ruby stands there and she can see where the bullet came from, and then she looks through the perfect hole, seeing a distant dark figure standing tall with a rifle in their hand, beginning to run.

"I've got her." Ruby says, vanishing in a blast of petals.

 

**Ruby**

Ruby sprints across the rooftops in the dark of the night as she pursues after the assassin that just killed Henry, jumping over alleyways to get to her. She doesn't even wield Crescent Rose at the moment, the weapon is still deactivated and on her back. She slides across things that get in her way and she can see the assassin running as fast as they can across the rooftops. The assassin gets to the edge and Ruby grabs Crescent Rose, aiming at her in Sniper Rifle mode. She pulls the trigger when she gets a clear shot and the bullet flies towards her.

The Assassin stops and holds her hand out. The bullet stops in the air right in front of her and the Assassin stares straight into Ruby's silver eyes. It is some sort of telekinesis. Ruby looks at the Assassin, the hood conceals the face in the shadows, only glowing orange eyes can be seen and the mask plate with glowing red lights that she breathes through.

It's the Onyx Phantom. She lowers her hand and the bullet drops from where she held it, and she vanishes as the armour creates some sort of invisibility shroud around her body, disappearing without a trace. Ruby stands there, utterly stunned by what just transpired...

And Henry Marigold is dead.

 

Henry Marigold is dead...

Assassinated by the Onyx Phantom. His body is covered up with a white sheet as Oscar throws it over his dead body, blood staining his body where the sniper rifle rounds shot through him. Weiss stands outside the house with her arms crossed as she looks at his dead body through the window. The night is bitterly cold, but she lets Oscar tend to him. Ruby walks over to her friend and she looks at her. Weiss sighs, her breath visible as a cold cloud of fog emerging from her lips. "He was a dunce...but he didn't deserve this." Weiss admits as she looks at Ruby. Ruby closes her big silver eyes with a sigh as well, since they failed to save him from the Onyx Phantom. Ruby looks up at the Fractured Moon in the dark night sky.

"Nobody deserves to die." Ruby says, and her comment does catch Weiss' attention.

"Even Cinder?" Weiss scoffs.

"Even her." Ruby says, looking at her.

"How can you say that after what she did?" Weiss questions, obviously with Pyrrha in her mind as she speaks to the Silver Eyed Girl. Ruby looks at Weiss.

"I want her punished for what she did...but I could never bring myself to wish death upon somebody. I will kill people...I have killed people...but I would never pray for someone to die." Ruby explains to the ashen haired girl. Weiss looks at her, listening to her wise words, and then she looks at the dead body of Henry again. They both turn to see Kassius walking up to them with both Lash Equinoxes folded away and magnetised to his armoured legs. He crosses his arms together, looking through the window as well.

"Who was the shooter?" Kassius asks her. Ruby looks back, through her memories from what she briefly saw from the Phantom.

"She was fast...glowing orange eyes..." Ruby remembers, then she remembers when she shot at her and she stopped the bullet in mid air. "And she stopped my bullet in the air without touching it." Ruby explains. Weiss' eyes widen and she looks at Ruby, and the first thing that comes to their mind is the semblance that Pyrrha had, the semblance of Polarity.

"Polarity?" Weiss assumes as she looks at her close friend. Ruby just shakes her head, though.

"No...it was stronger than that. Pyrrha's polarity was strong but she couldn't stop a bullet in its track, veer them off, maybe...but not like that. And my bullets aren't magnetic, couldn't have been polarity. This is something else." Ruby explains.

"Then what?" Weiss asks.

"Telekinesis." Kassius answers immediately, causing the two girls to look at him for answers.

"How'd you know that?" Weiss requests. Kassius parts his crossed arms to turn to them.

"I've seen those abilities before. The assassin that killed my team, but it wasn't a woman who killed them. But from how you are describing her? Sounds like we are dealing with a new Onyx Phantom." Kassius begins to explain. Ruby tilts her head when he mentions that name.

"Henry was about to say that name." Weiss remembers from what Yang told her.

"Yeah. As soon as he said Onyx, he was killed." Ruby agrees. Kassius turns and he walks to the wall and he presses his hands against it. He presses a button, the metal plates that surround him unlock, opening around him and then the whole suit opens up so then he can step out of it. He turns to the two girls.

"The Onyx Phantom is an ancient idea, a Mistraalian Assassin who is a lethal warrior. It has existed for thousands of years, and every Onyx Phantom conceals their identities. Everything but their eyes and they always wear a hood, or a helmet. Women tend to wear a hood, men tend to wear the helmet." Kassius explains to them both.

"Why the difference?" Weiss asks, which is a good question as well.

"Well, the male armour is heavier and more armoured. Whilst the female is lighter but weaker, sacrificing armour for speed. But both are stealthy." Kassius explains. "The Phantoms always wear voice disguisers as well, just to further hide their identity." Kassius explains.

"Why have the assassins?" Ruby quizzes Kassius.

"They were born to be the best-of-the-best." Kassius states. "But...over time...Salem learned of their power and she took the Onyx Phantoms for her own. And now they serve the Grimm." Kassius explains.

"They all have Telekinesis?" Weiss questions.

"Ever since Salem took control." Kassius answers.

"Can we beat her?" Ruby asks.

"We could definitely beat her, they’re not infinite like the Knights of Grimm are." Kassius says. He pauses for a moment, looking out at the woods where they were just at. His eyes almost seem like they are connected to those woods, like he belongs there. His cybernetic hand twitches when he looks out and Ruby notices the flicker of movement in his hand. She then looks at Kassius.

"Kassius? Are you okay?" Ruby asks him, walking up to him. Kassius turns his head when he hears her prying.

"Hmm? Oh yeah, I'm fine." Kassius lies, he has always been a terrible liar and both Yang and Ruby know that extremely well. Whenever he lies, he answers far too quickly for it to be the truth, and he replied very quickly right then.

"I know you, Kassius. And I know when you are lying." Ruby says. Kassius sighs, looking down at the floor and then he chuckles a little.

"You are just as stubborn as your sister." He says with a smile as he looks at the small black and red haired girl next to him. Even Weiss feels like she should be by his side as well, they know about what he lost down there, and that he has lost a lot since he left Yang. Even though he has her back, he is still grieving the loss of someone he loved. "My team are still down there...that was what I was really looking for. Not Death...Not Fear...none of them. I was just trying to find where they died, so then I could bury them." Kassius says to Ruby and Weiss. Yang walks out from one of the houses and she sees Weiss and Ruby talking to him. She walks over and she puts her hand on his shoulder.

"What's up?" Yang asks, then she follows his eyes as they look at the trees in the distance, and she already knows.

"Do you know where they are?" Ruby asks him. Kassius just nods as he looks down at his feet again. "Then let's go." Ruby says. Her immediate want to help nearly makes his eyes pop from their sockets when they widen, turning to face her and Weiss as they pass Yang.

"Wait, what? No...I can't ask you to do that." Kassius says, being as humble as ever. Yang looks at the man she loves then at her brave sister with Weiss.

"You're not, we're volunteering." Weiss retorts with a courtesy. Ruby and Weiss walk on but Kassius and Yang remain stood where they are. Ruby and Weiss stop, looking back at Yang and Kassius as she hugs him gently, then they both affectionately bump their foreheads together, holding that position as they close their eyes, stood there. Weiss looks in awe to see Yang like that, so soft and so nutty about a guy. "I've...never seen Yang like that." Weiss says to Ruby. Ruby smiles at them both being together.

"I have...once." Ruby says. "Those two have known each other for years. He was her best friend at school...then later down the line they became more than that. But they had to split because Kassius got a place here at Haven, whilst Yang and I got a place at Beacon." Ruby explains to her. "Yang never got another boyfriend because no one was ever as good to her like he was. He never had to pull any ridiculous pick-up lines or anything...he was just being himself." Ruby explains to the Atlesian Girl.

"But he got another girlfriend?" Weiss asks, sounding confused.

"Well...he never thought he'd see her again...neither did Yang for that matter. But she could never find someone like him. I guess when you grew up with someone like him at Patch, it is hard to move on. And from what he told me...even Vetra was nothing like Yang was. Apparently it wasn't as natural as it was for those two. But losing a girlfriend like that? No one should suffer through that." Ruby explains to Weiss, and Weiss sighs, closing her eyes for him.

"Come on, let's help him out." Weiss says, patting Ruby's shoulder, walking past her.

 

A couple of hours pass...

Team R.W.B.Y walk with Kassius into the woods in search of the bodies of his team where they were left. He looks around, fireflies fluttering and flashing in the beautiful night sky and all around them. Kassius continues to walk through, memories flashing before his eyes as he recognises the place that he wanders through. He sighs, the foggy breath leaving his mouth. "I remember this place like it was yesterday..." Kassius says to them, Blake turns and looks at him. She and him have both lost something like this, she has lost something quite recently.

"I'm sorry, Kassius." She says to him. Kassius looks at her and he smiles.

"Me too." He says, directing his answer to her parents. Ruby looks up at the stars as she wanders in the woodland. They pass by a tree and he stops, his eyes fixating onto one point. Yang stops Ruby and she just looks at Weiss and Blake. They both stop, and they let him have this moment to say goodbye. A horrible thing to see, the skeletons of his own team in a clearing in the middle of the forest.

The green grass around their bodies where they fell. He slowly walks towards them and Yang walks with him, looking at their bodies, and their weapons still beside their corpses. Their bones laid out as they died. He looks down at the bodies, tears welling up in his eyes. Yang takes her hand and she holds his gently and he holds it back. He lowers his head, exhaling. He turns to Blake who holds a shovel and he holds out his cybernetic hand. Blake throws the shovel to him and he catches it. "Goodbye, guys." He says to their bodies, stabbing the soil with the shovel's blade. He stamps down on the shovel, pushing it further into the dirt.

He digs for quite some time, creating holes for their skeletons to be rightfully buried. Weiss and Yang help by putting their skeletons in the graves that they have managed to dig out for them. When all four have been gently and respectfully put in, they also rest their weapons on their skeletons like a warrior, buried with their weapons. Kassius then takes up the job of filling the holes back up with the shovel, throwing dirt back into the hole for their bodies to be left to rest.

Ruby and Blake find twigs that they connect together with grass and vines to create three crosses for the graves, planting them down at the heads of the graves. When complete, they all pay their respects with a moment of silence. But Kassius stands there, holding one of Lash Equinox in his hand, he flicks his wrist up and the blade folds out from the hilt, extending out before him, and the light from the Fractured Moon reflecting from the metal blade.

He turns the blade to the ground, sinking it through the floor as he kneels down before the graves of his team. Yang stands there, looking at the man with empathy in her large lilac eyes. Tears fall from his eyes. "I'm sorry..." Kassius says to the graves, looking at the three of them. "I should have saved you..." He says. Yang wants to comfort him, but Weiss stops her from interfering, he needs his closure. It should be done on his own. So the team leave him to his own team for the time being until he is ready.

Kassius remains there, like a knight with his sword embedded in the ground with his eyes shut. "Vetra..." He stammers as he remembers her face. "I should have apologised sooner..." He says to her grave. "I never should have said the things that I said to you...I was mad and I was stupid." He snarls at himself. He lowers his head in anger at himself. "You were right." He says to the grave. "I wasn't over her..." He reveals. "I wasn't over Yang...I never could have...you always told me to follow my heart..." He slowly says to the grave.

Yang looks at him from behind a tree, always concerned about him. His mental state has been fractured from when the Onyx Phantom took his team from him, and he always describes his metal arm as a constant reminder of his failure as a leader. But there was nothing that he could have done to save them, the Onyx Phantom had them outmatched.

Kassius remains there on one knee with Lash Equinox stabbed into the grassy soil. "But I did love you..." Kassius says to her grave. "You were there for me here at Mistral when I was hating myself for leaving her..." Kassius explains to her grave. "I don't know if we can restart things...after everything that has happened...I don't know if she still holds those feelings." Kassius says to her grave. "It's her choice...it always has been...but I won't ever forget you, Vetra. You once told me that if you didn't come back from a mission, or if we had to end things...that I could move on..." Kassius says. A little chuckle emerges from his smile. "I hope that you were right." He says.

Yang smiles sweetly as she listens to him, her heart fluttering with love at his words, but also aching for him as well. "For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all, infinite in distance and unbound by death. Return to the Infinite and the Unbound, my friends...perhaps I will meet you at the shores when it is all over." Kassius speaks, reciting a similar line that Pyrrha said to Jaune when activating his Aura.

His aura flashes, a dark red flash across his body and it pulses into the three graves and then he opens his eyes. He stands tall, looking down at the graves. Yang walks up to him from behind and he turns, looking into those beautiful purple eyes. She beams sweetly and offers him a hug, and he accepts it, wrapping his arms round her, his hand moving through her long blonde hair. She gently caresses the back of his head as she holds him.

"I'm sorry, Kas." She says to him. They break the hug and she holds his cheek with her hand. "Are you alright?" She asks him. He looks back at the graves, a deep and heavy sigh released from his lungs.

"Yeah...I've had enough of this place." He says, walking away from her, ripping Lash Equinox from the soil and flicking it downwards, folding the blade back to the hilt. Yang looks at the graves, then she follows him.

 

**Cinder**

She walks through the outskirts, her amber eye examining everything around her. The mercenaries of whom they travelled here in have gone off, searching for Adam. He is here somewhere. Walking with her is Tyrian with his blades extended as he looks around. "Where is he?" Tyrian snarls in annoyance, his scorpion tail twitching as he walks. Cinder rolls her eye as she walks, missing her two friends right now.

"He's here." Cinder assures him.

"Are you sure?" Tyrian scoffs, hopping onto a rock, crossing his legs together as he sits on the boulder. Cinder sighs, looking up at the childish huntsman as he sits on the rock. She stands in a very feminine posture, placing her hand on her hip and tilting her head.

"Look, he has been meeting with Sienna Khan here. Hazel has informed it, he will be here." Cinder says, walking onward as she holds the Obsidian Bow in her hand. Tyrian sits back up, following the young woman across the street, landing down on the soil behind her as they walk onward. But whilst they walk, Tyrian stops as he looks out at the forest in the distance. Cinder doesn't stop however, she just keeps on walking to achieve her objective. She groans in annoyance, turning around to learn what he is staring at. "Oh, what now?" She groans. He just looks at her with a mad smirk.

"I spy...with my little eye..." He says, pointing to the woodland with his finger. Cinder follows his finger and sees what he saw. "A silver eyed warrior." Tyrian finishes, and Cinder's eye widens in disbelief when she sees Ruby walking with her team and Kassius, back to the city. She tenses up when she sees her, blaming her for everything that has happened to her. Blaming he for all of her failures and the punishments that have followed from them.

"Call Hazel and Watts...we have a change of plan..." Cinder snarls.

 

**Sun**

Sun walks across the area, his eyes examining the locale for any signs of Schnee life. Scarlet walks with him, along with Sage and Neptune, their weapons ready for combat. The Mercenaries will attack them, they already have engaged Team R.W.B.Y in a high speed chase on the roads only a couple of hours ago. Sun spins Ruyi Jingu Bang through his fingers, whistling to himself as he walks. "Winter?" He calls out, on a hunch he hopes that she will hear him and listen. Scarlet walks up to Sun's shoulder and he bumps his arm to get his attention. "Yeah?" He says in response.

"Did you hear?" Scarlet asks him.

"Hear what?" Sun asks.

Scarlet gestures to Neptune. "About him and Weiss." He whispers. Sun's eyes widen and he stops in his tracks, looking at the Pirate and then he looks at Neptune with a surprised expression. The blue haired boy pauses in his tracks as he looks at his leader.

"What?" Neptune asks with a little bit of fear in his voice.

"You and Weiss?" Sun asks with a smirk.

Neptune rolls his eyes in annoyance. "Oh god, did you tell everyone about that?" Neptune asks Scarlet, which makes Scarlet grin at him with his hands held up in self-defence. "Well how's that any different to you and Blake?" Neptune asks.

"Nothing...just surprising that you managed to win the Ice Queen over." Sun says with a little bit of amazement in his voice.

"It wasn't easy...I really had to work at it." Neptune points out. Sun chuckles a little as they walk. Sage continues to walk with them but he pauses when he hears a woman moan in pain. His eyes turn to a woman in the dark with some brown robes over her body. He looks carefully and sees a dirty white strand of hair dangling from the hooded head of the person. He walks towards her carefully and he reaches out to her.

"Hello?" Sage asks. The woman yelps in fear, drawing a sword and pointing it directly at his throat. Sage surrenders, his hands held up in defence to show that he won't hurt her. She has large pale blue eyes and is in her twenties, white hair and she is quite tall. It's Winter...

Sage notices that her hand is pressed to her side, just like the girl said to Weiss when she got here. "Winter..." Sage realises.

"No...I'm not..." She says, backing up from him with fear in her voice. This is the most frail she has ever seemed in front of somebody. She backs up against the wall and he holds his hands out, showing that he won't hurt her.

"I'm not an Acolyte of Lien, I'm from Haven, and you may have met these two before." Sage says, pointing to Sun and Neptune. "Your sister is looking for you, we are helping her." Sage says to her. Sun, Scarlet and Neptune look at Winter and they carefully approach her. Neptune and Scarlet keep watch for any Mercenaries coming near.

"Winter? We need you to come with us, your injured, we can help." Sun assures.

"How do you know my sister?" She demands.

"We are friends of hers, one of us is more than that." Sun says with a smirk when he looks at Neptune. Neptune groans and turns to Winter as she looks at him, she hasn't got the energy or the time to argue with the boyfriend of her sister. But she does get one word out.

"Boyfriend?" She snaps, before wincing in agony from the pain in her side.

"We need to get her to the Safehouse." Scarlet says.

"Good idea. Let's go, come on." Sun says, offering his hand to her. She looks at him, hesitation in her mind. "You can either: come with us, or, deal with the Mercs who are here." Sun says. Winter sighs, since she really has no other option, she takes his hand and she goes with them.

**Ruby**

Kassius has returned to Qrow after the help that Team R.W.B.Y have provided. The team walk through the alleyway of the buildings to get back to the place where Qrow was, taking a scenic route. Ruby looks over at Yang as they walk. "Is he okay?" Ruby asks. Yang looks at Ruby, remembering how he was feeling when she spoke to him after he could have a chance to say goodbye properly.

"It will take time, but I think we helped." Yang says.

"It feels good to help someone every now and again."Weiss says.

But then, as they walk through the alleyway, they all stop when they all hear someone screaming in terror from something inside with them. They all draw their weapons for combat, but then...there is a haunting sound that makes Ruby's eyes widen in fear. A blood-curdling hysterical laugh echoes from down the alleyway. Yang, Weiss and Blake notice the fear in those silver eyes, since she remembers who that laugh belongs to. Blake looks at Ruby. "Ruby? What's wrong?" Blake asks her. The laugh echoes again, getting louder now, and Ruby is stuck in this state of fear.

"Ruby, who is that?" Weiss questions.

That's when he turns the corner. His booted footsteps round the corner first and his brown trench coat surrounds the white sleeveless jacket with leather belts strapped to it. His scars on his chest are visible in the moonlight as he glares at them. His long damaged scorpion tail curved up behind his back as he stares at them, blood staining the wrist blades that are retracted at the moment. Moonlight reflects off the metal rings in his ears as he walks out into the light to look at them. A smirk forms on his face as he licks his lips like a psychopath. His eyes lock onto Ruby Rose and Yang's eyes widen in fear. "My little flower...we meet again..." He greets as he stares at her.

"Ruby?" Yang stammers in fear.

"It's...Tyrian..." Ruby stutters. Tyrian looks at the rest of the team and he gasps with happiness.

"Oh! And the rose has her beautiful petals with her. How pleasant...I shall enjoy plucking them from you." Tyrian snarls with a smirk. His wrist blades extend forward and he sprints straight at them, his arms held back and he laughs maniacally as he charges.

His laugh echoes across the city as he attacks them.


	14. Callows

**Sun**

Sun and Sage help carry the wounded Winter Schnee into the Safehouse after Scarlet opens the door. He lifts his flintlock pistol up, aiming down the sighs to see if anyone is inside. But the place is just as empty as it was when they left it. Winter cries out in agony, her wound is getting worse. Sun and Sage carry her over the couch, setting her down on it gently, the door slams shut after Neptune checks if it is clear.

The Mercenaries could be anywhere. Winter grits her teeth in pain, dirt covering her face and her hair. They get the brown overalls off her body and underneath is the same white Atlas Coat with the red brooch around her neck. Just like she was when Weiss saw her again at Beacon. But there are blood stains around her belly where she was attacked, probably by a Mercenary.

Sun notices that the wound is starting to bleed again. She groans in pain, dried up blood coating her palms. She coughs as well, blood leaking from her lip. "Never...was very good...at mending...wounds." She weakly says, coughing in between sentences from time to time. Scarlet puts her sword down on the floor by her side so then they can tend to her wounds. Sun looks to Scarlet, he has always been better at this stuff, but he is still no medic.

"What do we do? How do we help her?" Sun asks him.

Scarlet turns to Sage, pointing at him. "Go get the med-kit." Scarlet requests. Scarlet looks at her. "I need to get to the wound." He says, holding the blade of his cutlass up. He needs to open a hole in the clothes so he can mend it. Winter nods at him, giving him permission to do so. He carefully pushes the sword through the fabric, making sure that he doesn't cut her, only getting the tip through the fabric, sawing through it, and then ripping it open.

He observes the damage and his eyes widen from awe at the wound. "By the gods..." He says in disbelief, the wound is bad. And she has an infection from whatever hit her, it was bladed though, and it cut pretty deep. Blood oozes from the wound where she attempted to stitch it together, not very well mind, but she was on the run, no time to be artistic about it. Sun pushes his hands down on the wound to hold the bleeding back as best as he can.

"What did this?" Sun asks her, to keep her mind focused on something other than the pain.

"Tonfa..." Winter answers with a strain in her voice. "Some mercenaries jumped me." She says, coughing more with blood leaking from her lips. She is quite pale and sweat beading from the pores in her skin.

"Yeah, we've had our run-ins with those guys." Sun says to her. She looks at him.

"Weiss? Is she okay?" Winter asks, almost immediately when Sun hasn't already asked her something. Her thoughts immediately on her baby sister.

"She's fine." Sun promises with a smile, Winter closes her eyes and she sighs with relief.

"All I ever wanted...was for her to live a normal life..." Winter explains. "To do whatever she ever wanted, and when I heard she wanted to follow in my footsteps...well I was worried. I was scared that she might be too soft for the outside world." Winter explains. Neptune leans over from the curtains as he looks around.

"Take it from me, she isn't." He just says.

"We call her the Ice Queen for a reason." Sun points out with a chuckle. Winter smiles a little but then she winces in pain from the wound. Sage comes running in with the green box with medical supplies inside. He opens it up next to Scarlet and he immediately puts disposable rubber gloves on, also giving some to Sun so then he can hold the pressure on the wound. Scarlet picks up a cushion and gives it to sun to place it down.

"Okay...there should be a cloth in there and a bottle of disinfectant." Scarlet says, searching through. He pulls out a white piece of gauze and after some searching, a small flask of clear rubbing alcohol to kill any infections. There are also antibiotics in there, but he knows that he needs to seal the wound and cover it with a bandage before wasting medicine on a wound that can get infected again in seconds.

He pours the alcohol onto the cloth and he looks at Winter. "This is gonna hurt." He warns her. Winter nods, closing her eyes and breathing deep. He presses the cloth down onto the wound, her eyes pop open from agony as she feels the searing pain pulsating through her body from the wound that she has suffered from. Her arms and legs jolt up from the sudden shock as he presses it down, allowing the disinfectant to do its job. After a few seconds, he prepares the stitches. He picks up the tiny spike and he threads the needle, looking at it.

He exhales as he moves the needle closer and closer to her wound, then he pushes the needle through the skin where it has been cut open, blood pops through the puncture and she squeezes onto the sofa in pain, screaming through gritted teeth. He threads the needle through the hole he just made in the skin, the he moves into another side of the skin, pulling it together. It might take a while, over five threads later, Winter is still conscious, but barely. The body can only take so much pain before passing out. Blood covers Sun's hands as he holds the bleeding back. The bleeding is beginning to stop, luckily.

Scarlet finally finishes up; the wound is sealed by his effective medical skills. He takes a heavy breath after holding it in for so long. She still suffers from an infection, but there are needles with antibiotics in them to help her.

"How can she be suffering from an infection? What about her Aura?" Neptune asks.

"I dunno..." Scarlet says to him. Winter weakly opens her large blue eyes.

"I...I think it...was poison." She says to them all. Sun looks at Scarlet and Neptune who are stood beside him.

"A poison that can shut down an Aura? Are we sure antibiotics will work?" Sun questions.

"Not like that...it wasn't a poison that kills; it just keeps my Aura down for maybe a week. I have seen it before, Scephix." Winter quietly says, her voice is very weak from the drugs that they have just put in her system, helping her go to sleep and to cure the infections that have been placed upon her body.

"Great..." Sun scoffs in annoyance. "As if these guys can't get even more annoying." He sarcastically states, pressing his hand against his knee, shaking his head. Winter gently touches his hand to get Sun's attention, and he looks at the beautiful Schnee woman who lies on the sofa.

"What is she doing here?" Winter asks him. "Weiss?" She adds.

Sun exhales, looking at her. They have all been informed on everything that has happened upon their arrival, so he knows as much as they do. "She was looking for you." Sun answers. Winter looks at him quizzically. "She was held captive by your father, the S.D.C Heiress Title she was given? He took that from her and now she is here. She tried changing her identity to avoid the Mercenaries, they are hunting her as well." Sun explains. Winter's eyes widen in fear for her little sister.

"Father did this?" She inquires. Sun just nods and her expression transforms immediately into anger towards that name. She scowls and she sits up right, trying to leave. "I need to find her." Winter says, but Sun puts his hand against her shoulder and lays her back down.

"You can barely walk, rest. Weiss is fine, I'm sure she'll be back soon." Sun says.

 

**Weiss**

 

"Ruby!" She screams, launching a Glyph towards the madman that sprints straight at them. He jumps in the air, running across the wall to avoid the ice shards that she launches straight at them. He leaps directly at the young silver eyed warrior. He grabs her and they both smash straight through one of the houses. Tyrian picks her up and wraps his tail around her neck, throwing her across the road and into oncoming traffic. Ruby crashes straight into a car and she bounces off the bonnet that she had just dented. She cries out, rolling across the tarmac road, then she looks up. The car is stopped and Tyrian stomps towards her. He lifts up the stump of his scorpion tail, the barb is slowly beginning to grow back over time.

"They you are, you little bitch!" He barks as he points at her, and his wrist blades extend on both arms as he approaches her. "I've been waiting for this!" Tyrian yells in rage, punching Ruby right in the chest as she tries to get back up, launching her across the road again. She slides across the floor, Crescent Rose too far from her reach. "Remember this?" He asks, pointing to his amputated barb that she had cut off after he poisoned Qrow back at Oniyuri. He snarls, grabbing her by the throat and lifting her off the floor, staring into her eyes with his menacing yellow ones, his teeth gritted. He pulls his arm back, his wrist blades extending forward, the moonlight shining off the blade as he stares at her. "I'm gonna enjoy this." He growls.

Ruby struggles as he chokes her out, holding her off the floor, but then he sees one of her glyphs forming behind Ruby. Weiss suddenly launches past him and lands on the Glyph, then leaping at him. "Leave her alone!" Weiss yells, tackling him in return, into the floor. She smashes him into the floor and he kicks her right in the chest which sends Weiss into the air. He wraps his tail round her heel and throws her straight into the floor with force, yelling with rage. Tyrian stares at her with those menacing golden eyes, smirking at her.

"Never should have come here, Schnee." He threatens, making Weiss look at him in fear, if he knows who she is, then a disguise won't save her from the Mercenaries. But he is the current threat. He walks towards her, then he turns to see Yang and Blake stood there, glaring at him.

"Leave her alone!" Yang also yells. Tyrian rolls his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, we get the point." He scoffs. Yang runs at him, swinging a punch straight at him. Tyrian ducks down to avoid the punch and he retaliates with a roundhouse kick that nails her right in the cheek, causing her to stumble. Blake runs and jumps in the air at Tyrian, kneeing him in the chin, causing him to stagger back. She takes her chance and slashes the blade of Gambol Shroud at him, the blade cutting against his aura. But he just laughs maniacally, hitting her blade from his way with his blades and he slashes the blade across her aura, proceeding to kick her straight in the sternum.

She is sent flying into the ground, but then he raises an eyebrow in confusion when her body disappears. He looks around, realising that it was one of Blake's Shadow Clones that she used against him, she comes up behind him and slashes his back with Gambol Shroud. He turns sharply, bringing the two blades around and slashing the real Blake with force. She yelps, staggering backwards from the sudden and aggressive attack that he had just laid upon her. Yang charges at him and starts punching with the lessons that Taiyang had taught her back home. She uses her head, dodging his attacks and punching him in the face.

She swings her foot round to kick him in the head, but Tyrian is so fast that he grabs her leg and throws her. Yang points Ember Celica behind her, firing which uses the recoil to throw her back at the lunatic. She launches towards him, yelling as she tackles him into the tarmac. She punches him in the side of the head with her cybernetic hand, smashing his head into the tarmac. Cracks spread across the tarmac from the impact and he gathers a small amount of blood in his mouth, spitting it out.

He cackles when seeing the crimson red fluid by his face, staring at her with blood leaking from his hurt lip. "Is that all you've got?" Tyrian challenges with a frenzied and sly smile. Yang grits her teeth in rage, preparing to punch him again with her cybernetic fist, yelling with antagonism in her tone.

But before she knows it, Tyrian works his boot up to her belly and he kicks her with force, launching her across the block into one of the buildings in the distance. She crashes directly through it, tumbling through desks and through multiple walls. Brickwork crumbles down from her impact and she rolls into a room. Yang looks at some of the people inside, shocked by what just happened. Tyrian's attention returns to his target, the one that Salem had put the target on.

He stomps towards her, slashing his blades at her. Ruby rolls out of the way and she grabs Crescent Rose, transforming her back into Scythe Form, slashing the curved blade into his chest. He staggers back with a loud yell of anger. He drags one of the blades into the floor, getting back up to run back. He leaps in the air, corkscrewing through the air towards her, spinning the blades right. Ruby rolls out the way and he lands on his feet. Tyrian spins round and slashes his blades at her again, but Blake's sword blocks the two blades. He towers above Blake, pushing them both down towards her as she protects her friend. Blake's amber eyes widen as she looks at the two curved blades, seeing her own reflection in them.

Tyrian is constantly laughing as he pushes the blade down, bringing Blake down to one knee, Ruby crawls away and she gets back up, ready to fight again. But suddenly Weiss comes shooting past Ruby to help, using her Glyphs to help. Weiss forms a glowing blue snowflake like glyph behind her, jumping against it and propelling herself towards him. She points Myrtenaster at Tyrian as she approaches. Tyrian sharply turns, spinning round and kicking her right in the gut, stopping her where she flew, her arms and legs kicking forth around his boot as it hit his foot. She blasts back from his boot, bouncing and tumbling across the road. Tyrian smirks. "These are the legendary warriors of beacon" He scoffs.

Ruby uses Crescent Rose to get back up, staring at the madman. "Why are you doing this?" Ruby asks. Tyrian laughs, lifting his tail up where she cut it off. He widens his eye, pointing to it.

"An eye for an eye." Tyrian snarls with a mad smile. Ruby feels dread form in her bones when he says that, her eye starting to itch when he points towards it. He then walks straight for her. Until suddenly the golden glow of her hair almost blinds Tyrian when she leaps at him. She stares at Yang as she punches him straight in the face, knocking him on the floor. Tyrian rolls across the floor and rises to his feet immediately.

Yang stands in front of her little sister, her large purple eyes locked with his mad golden ones. He stands tall, staring at her. "I guess you must be her loyal sister." Tyrian presumes. Yang just scowls at him, allowing Ruby the time to stand back up.

"You could call me that." Yang replies, glaring into his eyes.

"You're a pretty girl, so why don't you do yourself a favour and shuffle along?" Tyrian asks Yang.

Yang scoffs. "First of all, only one guy can call me pretty without making me gag, secondly, that's not gonna happen." Tyrian says.

Tyrian rolls his eyes.

"Why is everyone so loyal?" Tyrian cries out in exasperation, punching the sky.

"Because she is a great leader." Weiss says, standing with Yang in front of her B.F.F.

"And family." Blake says, standing courageously before her leader. Ruby stands up behind them, her heart warming as she sees her friends protecting her. Tyrian scoffs.

"It is truly beautiful, I would retch right now, but...I have a bounty to collect for my Queen. So step aside..." Tyrian explains, his tone changing to a far more sinister one. He points the guns around his wrists at them all, staring straight into their eyes. "Surrender the girl or die." He threatens. Yang slams both her fists together, staring right at Tyrian.

"I don't think so." Yang replies with a constant and threatening stare. Tyrian smirks back at her.

"Good." He says, he warps directly for them at great speeds, slashing his blades straight for them. Yang blocks with her metal arm, hooking the curved blade on the metal arm. She grabs his hand and clenches around him, throwing him through one of the open shops. He yells, smashing straight through the window, bringing the supports that hold the goods down. It all crashes down and Ruby stares at him, hissing as she grits her pearly white teeth. She grips Crescent Rose tight, running towards him.

But as she runs towards him, he lunges out from the shadows with a sudden and loud laugh, kicking her in the chest. Ruby smashes straight into the guard rail. But she runs back towards him, using the recoil of her rifle to send her up into the sky, she spins the Scythe around, shooting downwards to dart down towards him as he fights them. She kicks him straight in the side of the head, knocking him backwards, straight into one of Blake's attacks.

Yang charges right at him, swinging her fists over and over to his face, she pushes some of them aside at times to avoid them, but some do nail him right in the head. But he wraps his tail around Yang's leg, throwing her into the wall. She yells, getting launched right into the wall. Weiss stands tall with form, launching ice right at his leg which freezes him right where he stands. He grunts in anger.

"We can't beat him! He's stronger and faster!" Ruby warns them. Yang turns to a car and she looks to the others.

"Care for another drive?" She asks, running to the abandoned car. The door is left open and they all get inside of it. Yang turns the ignition on when they all shut the doors and she drives off. Tyrian looks at them in anger as they retreat with Ruby, since that is his target, not the rest of them.

And Yang just wants to get her little sister to safety. Tyrian rips his leg free from the ice that encased his leg, sprinting after them. He leaps after them but Yang turns around, pointing Ember Celica at him. "Eat this!" She yells, firing a flaming round right at him, the impact launches him backwards. He rolls across the floor and his eyes narrow in rage. He throws his arms back in anger. He roars in rage at his second failure to her now.

But while he stands there...

A dark shadow passes over him and he looks up. A smirk beams across his mad face.

"Run...Ruby...Run..." Tyrian slowly says with madness in his eyes. "We will see each other again." He assures.

 

**Ruby**

 

"That was Tyrian?" Yang asks Ruby with a combination of shock and enjoyment in her voice. Yang continues to drive through the streets of Mistral to get back to the Safehouse in time. Ruby turns to the others.

"Yeah, that was the guy who-" Ruby turns when Weiss' eyes widen in fear and they all start to scream in terror when they see what is directly in front of them. Something darts across the sky towards one of the buildings, a dark hominid figure with jet black Nevermore wings spread out as it glides. It lands against one of the buildings, bringing a section of it down from his landing. He then leaps across the street onto another building, doing the same form of damage, leaving a hole in the windows.

He then leaps straight at them, yelling. The black shadowy form suddenly transforms, an eruption of smoke around his body as it transforms into a massive black Nevermore, but it has no white and red crest like every other Grimm. The Nevermore shrieks, spreading out its wings as it approaches. Yang presses her foot down on the breaks to stop the car while she still can. But the talons of the Nevermore stab straight through the doors of the car, hooking onto its body and locking on.

"Nevermore!" Blake yells in fear. The Nevermore swings both of its wings down with force to lift its massive form into the air, blasting dust and litter everywhere as it takes off. They all hang on for dear life as the car is being carried away by this Nevermore that has just formed before them. They are all panicking, but across all of Mistral, the teams all turn, seeing the Nevermore flying across the sky.

Sun stands with his team, hearing the distant commotion, looking at the Nevermore as it flies off with them, and he can see them inside. He turns to Neptune and he nods. Sun looks at Scarlet and Sage. "Keep her safe!" He orders. Scarlet nods and they lock the door behind them. Qrow and Kassius move off, telling Oscar to get to the Safehouse, whilst team J.N.R run to the Nevermore as well. The entire city is in a state of panic right now from seeing a massive Nevermore just appearing in the city like that.

The Nevermore carries them across a large river and then approaches what looks like a very familiar facility. One with a symbol that they recognise: a scientific symbol with a hexagon in the middle of it with three lines connected with circles extending out from it at different sections with military start rankings in the middle.

It is an old Merlot Industries Industrial Plant for his experiments, his experiments existed outside of Vale, outside of Mountain Glenn.

The Nevermore swings its massive wingspan above the rusty rooftop, the claws them retract from the car, releasing it. The car feels the force of gravity itself, whooshing down through the wind towards the roof. The car crashes straight through the roof and smashes down into the ground, setting the airbags off in the car to prevent any damage. The car falls backwards, onto the roof with them still inside the vehicle.

They all try to disconnect their seat belts when a black sword slams through the metal interior of the car, making them scream in terror as it carves the entire car in half. The car is cut clean in half into two pieces, falling in half and causing the team to be split into both halves. Ruby clambers out of the seat and she sees who cut the car in half.

The Knight of Death...

His armoured body with black smoke surrounding him, a cape of smoke trailing behind him and glowing red eyes staring at her. He wields the sword that he just cut the car in half with, he paces around Team R.W.B.Y, staring at them all. He was the same being that she saw turn into that Nevermore as well. But her thoughts stop short when she feels her hairs stand on end and she turns, seeing another Knight of Grimm approaching them. "Oh gods, Oh gods!" Weiss whimpers in terror as he leans down to face them.

His glowing gold eyes stare straight into theirs and he laughs menacingly at them, his skin rotting with maggots falling from it, the bone in his skull is actually visible underneath the dead skin. Along with other sections of the skeleton, like his rib cage and forearm. He slams his Reaper's Scythe down into the ground in front of them as he stares straight at them. He creates a haunting growl as he stares at them, but someone stops him from taking it any further. He looks over when he hears her voice, standing tall again as he backs down.

Blake turns around when she sees her stood there in her black dress. The eye patch covering one eye. "Come here, Ruby..." Cinder demands coldly. Ruby does what she says for the safety of her friends, dropping Crescent Rose on the floor as she approaches her with her hands held above her head. "Closer..." Her voice resounds with resentful tones, ones that they would not want directed towards them by the Fall Maiden. Ruby carefully walks down the stairs to face her. "It’s been a while, but you remember my face, don’t you? I mean I do look a lot different...don’t I?" Cinder asks her, the old self seeming to return here slightly, but carrying a more vicious version of her personality than before.

No more smiles.

No more flirting.

This is revenge.

Yet Ruby is still hoping for some kind of reconciliation between the two of them, but deep down she knows that is not going to happen.

"I'm doing as you said, okay? Just please don't hurt them." Ruby begs.

"Shut it!" Cinder yells in anger, using her Fall Maiden Abilities to launch Ruby from the staircase with explosive force.

"Ruby!" Yang cries out, but she feels the hand of a brutish man behind her grabbing her by the shoulder. She turns to see the bearded face of Hazel, glaring down at her. Ruby crashes down onto the ground, wincing in pain as she lands. Cinder floats down from the platform she was stood upon and she walks towards Ruby, using her Obsidian blades to pin her to the concrete floor. Cinder smirks as she holds her down, finally being able to get some payback after what happened to her on Beacon Tower.

"Oh...how I have waited so long for this moment." Cinder says as she pushes the blade against her neck. "I am gonna kill you for what you did to me...but...our dearest Doctor would like some time to perform some delicate research on you." Cinder explains.

Ruby's eyes turn to see the man that was speaking with Professor Lionheart when she first met him. He walks towards her, scratching his black moustache as he walks towards them both. He reaches into his coat and pulls out a pair of glasses, putting them before his eyes.

"Let's get a good look at those eyes." Watts eagerly begins, grabbing the young girl by her cheeks, staring at her eyes. His grasp squeezes her face together tight as he stares straight into her silver irises. He looks closely at her silver irises and he investigates them, he has done a lot of research but Ruby closes her eyes so then he cannot see them.

He rolls his eyes and he nods to Cinder. The Fall Maiden slightly pushes the blade to the side on her neck, cutting the skin slightly, and drawing blood. Not enough to kill Ruby, but enough to scare her into keeping her eyes open. She gasps, her eyes opening from fear. "I am the doctor, Miss Rose, do not test me here." Watts advises as he continues to examine her eyes. He then takes a step back in disbelief after getting a good look. "Yes...there...without a doubt in my mind. She is the one that Salem has been speaking of, the one that would come." Watts states, confusing Ruby.

"What are you talking about?" Ruby stammers quickly. Cinder smirks down at Ruby as she asks that question.

"Well, it seems you have something in those big eyes of yours, something we can't stand for." Cinder points out. Ruby, as she always does, starts to speak rapidly to try and talk her way out of this situation.

"Okay...you're angry at me, I messed up your face and you killed one of my best friends, I guess we're even." Ruby rapidly says, but it is clear that Cinder isn't even listening as she takes her Obsidian Sword and lifts it up, ready to stab her in the head. "So can we at least talk about this?" She asks. Cinder scowls at her.

"Enough talk." Cinder says, she brings it down towards her sternum to kill her.

Suddenly the roof caves in, and Qrow lands down right above Cinder and the others. The walls all explode as the teams arrive to save the day. Nora blows a hole in the wall with Magnhild, allowing Ren and Jaune to charge into the room. Sun and Neptune also run inside as well. Kassius drops down from the roof as well, whereas Oscar is not here due to not being trained for this level of combat.

Neptune fires his rifle at Hazel as he stands there. Cinder looks around for Death and Fear but they have vanished. She snarls in annoyance and Ruby takes that chance to flee from Cinder as she is looking around. Watts stands up and growls in annoyance at this interruption. Ruby sprints to Weiss, Blake and Yang and they run to another car that is left outside. "Let's hope we don't crash again!" Yang says as she switches the ignition on.

Still inside the Merlot Factory, Qrow looks down at Cinder and she looks up at him. Qrow leaps into the air, and with his sword in his grasp, he folds the blade downwards and aims his shotgun at her, firing shell fragments at her, muzzle flash rippling from the barrel as it launches bullets down at her. Cinder grits her teeth, running and jumping towards the wall. She runs up the wall and jumps a second time, performing a successful back flip. As she flips round, the embers form from her dress and they construct her Obsidian Bow and Arrows, which she draws back and aims three arrows straight at him whilst in mid-air. She releases the bowstring, launching the three arrows right at him as he flips through the air.

Qrow lands on the other side of the gap where she was, shooting at her as she launches arrows constantly at her that she forms from the dust powered dress she wears. Qrow spins his sword through his fingers as he prepares to battle the many enemy Hunters that surround him, deactivating the firearm inside the sword. He slashes the huge blade at Watts as he fights him in the room. Qrow kicks him in the back of the knee than shoots him in the chest, launching him through the window of the old facility.

Qrow spirals round and he stares directly at Cinder, winking at her as he fires a round right at her. Cinder's eye widens when she realises and the impact of the round sends her flying through the wall and crashing into the ground with force. Cinder narrowly misses the car that Team R.W.B.Y are escaping in and she uses her new found Fall Maiden Capabilities to keep up with them, flying after them with fury in her amber eyes. Qrow stands in the crater in the wall where Cinder was launched through, his eyes following the car that is escaping. "Yang!" Qrow calls.

The car continues to drive on. "Yang! Go to the forest! They won't catch us there!" Ruby plans, looking back constantly for Cinder. Yang drives as fast as she can, the Nevermore form of Death had already carried them quite close to the woods anyway, so they follow the path down into the woodland where they found the bodies of Kassius' team. Weiss gasps when she sees something emerging from the treeline, a dark mass of shadows. The mass cuts the trees down with the wings of the Nevermore, slicing them clean in half. The Nevermore glides after them.

"That Nevermore's back!" Weiss calls.

"Don't worry! We'll just jump out this time!" Yang says.

But they have no idea that the Nevermore has transformed again. The massive body erupts into a cloud of black smoke, the body shrinks down into a humanoid shape as it flips over them, dropping feet first. The black Nevermore Wings fold away into the black cape of smoke that Death wears, and he lands straight on the bonnet of the car. He crushes the bonnet down upon impact and the car flips over him, throwing Ruby straight through the windscreen.

The car crashes and tumbles across the grassy soil after Death landed on it, he watches it tumble and crash into trees as it rolls. Ruby takes the worst of it, tumbling down and she smashes straight into a tree. Her eyes widen in pain and there is a red energy that flutters around her, her aura has been completely depleted. She is lucky that slamming into a tree at that speed didn't kill her.

She coughs in pain, rolling on the floor with blood leaking from her mouth, she must have broken something from that impact. Her eyes look up and she notices the grass dying as Death walks. The stories that he told were right. Death just stares at her, vanishing in a cloud of smoke that travels off in the wind.

Yang kicks the door from its hinges and she sees Ruby lying on the ground and she is barely moving. "Ruby!" She screams, running to her side. She rolls her over and she can tell her aura has been wiped out since she is coughing up blood in pain.

"She hit the tree." Blake realises as she examines the situation. Yang turns when she sees Cinder throwing herself right at Ruby.

"Get her to safety!" Yang begs, throwing her body into Cinder's.

Cinder grabs Yang and they both crash into the ground, dirt kicking up around them as they roll through the soil. Weiss and Blake help Ruby to her feet, she is barely conscious so they help move her to safety. Yang swings round and punches Cinder across the face that causes her tied up black hair to come loose, falling down to her shoulders again. Cinder yells out in anger and she tackles Yang back into the ground again. Yang throws her off and punches Cinder straight in the spine.

Cinder grunts from the impact. "You killed Pyrrha!" She yells. She then sends her elbow directly into her nose as she spins round. "Killed Penny!" She lists, firing Ember Celica into Cinder's chest finally. "No one else will die because of you!" She yells after shooting her. Cinder tumbles through the soil and she hisses at Yang in anger. Yang turns when she hears more people coming. Hoping that it is Kassius and Qrow, but it isn't.

Hazel sprints across the field towards Yang, Watts jumps from the hill, using the tree to launch himself down onto the ground. And finally, Tyrian shows us. He jumps and drags his Wrist Blade down the bark of a tree. He stares straight at Weiss and Blake who are carrying Ruby and he smirks.

"Come here, my little flower." He says with a menacing tone.

Tyrian sprints after Blake and Weiss, nearly falling over from the sharp turn that they make to avoid him. He continues to lunge for them and Hazel runs after them as well. Suddenly Yang erupts from the trees, wrapping her arms around Hazel's waist as she tackles him into the ground. Weiss and Blake take whatever time they can get to get Ruby to safety so she can recover.

Yang swings her fist round with force into the side of Hazel's head, nearly knocking him onto the floor. She nearly misses Tyrian charging past her to get to her sister. She hooks her cybernetic arm round the neck of Tyrian and lifts him off the ground. He flails around as she lifts him up in the air, shooting bullets from his armaments to try and hit Yang. But Yang kicks him right in the jaw which smashes him into the ground.

Weiss and Blake help get Ruby behind a felled tree and they stay close to her, Myrtenaster and Gambol Shroud at the ready. Crescent Rose is still laying in that foundry somewhere.

"You fight a battle that is already lost, Xiao Long!" Cinder yells as she fights them. Yang yells as she fights the four Huntsmen and Huntress around her. She punches Watts straight in the face with her Cybernetic arm which sends him flying. She instinctively crouches down to avoid Tyrian's slash of his blades only to get grabbed by Hazel who punches her in her flank.

She yelps in pain and Hazel throws her by her hair into the ground with force. She crashes straight into the soil and she stumbles to her feet. Cinder stands there and she swings her heel round, kicking Yang right in the face, a shockwave rippling across her face as she staggers aside. Blake's eyes widen.

"Yang!" Blake screams.

The four warriors surround her, beating her down, not giving her a chance to get back up. Tyrian points his guns at her and he fires bullets at her, further weakening her Aura. Cinder uses her Fall Maiden powers as she channels fire down her arm and launches an extremely powerful fireball straight at Yang's feet, launching her across the woodland and crashing into the ground.

Her aura is starting to deplete and she breathes in and out, heavily from pain. Her arm has also suffered some damage as well, some sparks and scorch marks on the arm as she lays there. Cinder stands there, staring at her with the Fall Maiden flames leaking from her eyes as she stares at Yang. "This is no longer your fight Yang, the girl is simply dead weight. One Silver Eyed Girl over your own?" Cinder scoffs as they begin to converge on her.

Weiss and Blake look at each other, they know that they need to help, they look at Ruby and she just nods, hiding behind the tree.

Yang grits her teeth in anger, she knows that there is a time to use her semblance...and that time is right now. "She is not...just a Silver Eyed Warrior..." Yang snarls in anger. She closes her eyes, then there is a sudden and powerful pulse of golden light that emits from her hair and her body. Her eyes burst open, turning from lilac to blood red from rage. "She's my sister!" Yang yells in rage, pumping Ember Celica up as she sprints at them.

Yang thrusts her cybernetic arm downwards just like she does with both, and amazingly, the metal plates shift and fold open, transforming into her second long lost Ember Celica, the same one that she lost when Adam cut her arm off. It was built into the arm the whole time, she has only now realised this.

Yang charges right at Cinder and punches her in the face with both Ember Celicas before she can use her abilities on her, kicking her in the back of the leg then Weiss jumps in, slashing Myrtenaster at her, fighting her. Yang smashes through the four warriors, lunging right at Tyrian who sprints right at her. Yang fires both of her Ember Celicas as she fights them, unleashing her fury upon them all, grabbing Tyrian by his long Scorpion-Like Tail of Hair, throwing him straight into a tree and she fires a pair of rockets right at Hazel who runs at her, the rockets explode on contact.

Blake throws her Chain Scythe at Hazel, missing and hooking onto a tree as she swings round and kicks him in the face with both feet, knocking him off his own feet. Yang spins round, punching and shooting into Watts as he attacks Yang, she then turns and rolls across Tyrian's back as she slashes at her. As she rolls, she grabs his hair again and yanks him back. Tyrian yells in anger at her as she beats him. Hazel swings his massive fist at her but she catches it with her cybernetic one, twisting it round and kicking him in the head.

 After doing that, her fury then is targeted towards Cinder as she punches into the back of her exposed leg and then punches right across her cheek. Cinder grunts from the impact and then she does it again, that punch also sends Cinder hurtling across the floor, crashing into the ground. And Cinder's Aura is somehow actually being beaten by Yang's fury, absorbing the attacks that the Fall Maiden has laid into her, it has made her more lethal than ever.

Blake slashes Gambol Shroud across the chest of Hazel and Hazel swings at her, getting clumsy now that they have just been destroyed by Yang's rage. Blake jumps backwards and shoots her magnum right into his leg. Hazel yells out in pain from the impact, nearly dropping to his knee. Weiss ducks down when Watts swings his saw blade right at her and she forms a glyph under her feet, jumping into the air. She forms another Glyph behind her and darts down into him, stabbing her sword into the floor that sends spikes of ice erupting from the ground, launching him into the air.

Yang turns from Cinder and punches Tyrian right in the hand, nearly breaking his arm. He screams in agony from the impact and she fires her two weapons into his chest, launching him right into a tree, a purple flash of light flowing across his body as his aura completely shuts down. The same occurs for all of them, Yang's sudden rage and discovery of her second Ember Celica has helped them win that fight.

Ruby smiles as she sees them winning the fight...but everything changes when she turns and sees some moss on the dead tree begin to rot away. Ruby's eyes widen in fear and she rolls onto her back, blood still leaking from her mouth where she has been coughing. Fear channels into her body when she sees the trees begin to rot and crumble as he walks towards her. Darkness and smoke trails around him as he walks towards her, each footstep sounds like it belongs to a dragon.

His cape has transformed into Angel-Like Nevermore wings that are spread out as he walks slowly, those red eyes fixed on her as he walks towards her, his chilling sword held by the hilt as he approaches her. Ruby stammers in fear, but she is still winded and can barely raise her voice to call her sister for help. "Yang..." She weakly exhales. The grass dies around him as he walks closer, entire fully grown trees are toppled just by the mere presence of him. Of the Knight of Death, the stories did not lie about his presence, he is Death.

He continues to walk towards her, the metal plates that make up his face slide apart, being held up by the smoke that surrounds him. Inside is the infernal skull that glares at her as he holds his hand out towards her.

Yang turns around when she senses her sister is in trouble, like a second semblance, her protective sisterly nature. Her eyes widen in fear when she sees Death approaching her baby sister. "Ruby!" She screams. Blake and Weiss turn and they sprint towards Ruby with Yang. Death lifts the blade of his sword up to kill Ruby and claim her soul. But unexpectedly, Blake's Chained Scythe hooks onto the hilt of the blade. A deep and menacing laugh emerges from the skull as he looks at Blake who swings towards him.

Death however...is cunning. He wraps the chain around the blade of his cursed sword and he slams the sword downwards away from him. Blake screams as she is thrown straight into the ground head first. There is a large explosion of soil and her body lays there, unconscious. Yang's eyes widen, seeing her purple aura wearing off instantly from that impact. Death looks at them both, now he has two options.

Yang and Weiss both run right at Death but Death kicks Yang right in the chest, slamming her into the tree, and the impact wipes out her aura and he catches Weiss by the neck, throwing her right into the floor. The impact does not wear her aura off, until he stamps down onto her stomach with force, roaring demonically at her, then he kicks her in the side, which sends a pulse of white light over her as her aura is destroyed.

Death stands there, holding the blade of his sword out, he still has not said a word, unlike the rambling human enemies that they just destroyed. He walks towards Yang and he swings his sword right at her. Yang closes her eyes in acceptance as the blade hits her neck.

Except it doesn't...

There is a loud metallic clang upon impact.

Yang opens her eyes...and she cannot believe what she sees.

The glowing red blade of an Odachi Sword blocks the blade of Death's. Death slowly turns his burning skull as the metal plates close up around his head, the red eyes meeting her red eyes. Her long black and red hair blows in the wind and she appeared out of nowhere as quickly as she always does. She stares straight into the eyes of Death fearlessly.

She grits her teeth in anger.

"Get away from my daughter." Raven threatens.


	15. Corvi Et Mortem

**Raven**

She wields her Odachi Sword in her hand, the red blade protecting her daughter who looks up at the woman dressed in red. Death steps back from her, darkness following him as he stands there, staring straight into Raven's red eyes. His menacing breath emerges from the mask; the helmet is very, very similar to the mask that she wears most of the time, except it is black instead of white and red like most other Grimm. Raven points the tip of the sword right at Death with a scowl on her face, ready to fight him. "Leave, Death." She demands.

"The end of life is coming, Raven Branwen. Not even you can run from it." Death speaks, his voice comprised of hundreds of different voices, all speaking in unison at once, all the lives of those that he has taken. Trillions of lives are probably inside him right now. Amongst the voices, Pyrrha's can actually be heard in his speech.

"You will not hurt my child." Raven snarls at him, gritting her teeth as she stares at the demonic being. His cape transforms into the Nevermore Wings that spread out, the sharp feathers stretching out, blocking out the light reflected from the fractured moon. Death lifts his sword up at here, glaring right at her, plants dying around him and decomposing away.

"Extinction comes for all life on Remnant eventually, Raven...even the Humans and Faunus will meet theirs soon." Death states as he points his sword at her. "The time has come for life to fall behind the horizon and for the armies of my claimed to walk across the fields once more. I am here to claim what belongs to me. For far too long have Huntsmen and Huntresses utilised my gift for their own gain." He explains, standing tall as he looks down at them, towering above Raven, but she is not afraid of him, she just stares straight back. "All life will return where it began...to the Infinite and the Unbound." He says with menacing intent.

Raven grits her teeth, swinging her sword straight at him with force. Death blocks her attack with his wing and he kicks her right in the chest, launching her backwards. Raven drags the blade of her Odachi into the soil to slow herself. Down. She launches towards him, transforming into a physical Raven, flapping her feathered wings to build up speed. She then warps back into her human form, punching Death in the head, the impact creates a shockwave and he staggers backwards, looking right at her.

He lifts the blade of his sword up, the razor sharp serrated blade coated in darkness and red light flowing through the markings on the weapon. Raven stands ready for combat, her red eyes locked with the Archangel. “What right do you have to choose who lives and who dies?” Raven questions, and Death stands his ground.

“Time runs out for everyone eventually.” Death states.

“My daughter will not be one of them.” Raven snarls with anger, standing right in front of her daughter protectively.

Death glares her down, then his breath slowly emerges from the helmet. "Then you have accepted your fate." He snarls.

Black and red electrical forks of light begin to crackle across the blade of his sword and he points it straight at her, blasting a constant beam of lightning right at her. Raven gasps, leaping out of the way and running towards him and the constant blast of lightning carves through the forest treeline like a super-heated knife cutting through them, causing them all to collapse upon contact. Raven jumps towards him, swinging the blade of her sword down towards him, but Death swings it back at her, blocking her attack with his sword. He pushes her back and then kicks her right in the chest.

But Raven is strong, able to stick the landing and return for more combat against him. She forms red portals constantly, bouncing around him in fast attacks with her Odachi, slashing into his body with the red blade over and over. Raven yells as she drives the sword straight through death's chest, protruding through his back. The Angel-Like wings spread out and he growls in pain, but then he stares right at her. Raven looks at his burning red eyes as he stares straight through into her soul.

A quick excess of breath escapes her lips, realising that stabbing him is useless. "You cannot kill what is already dead." He says to her, grabbing her by the wrist and throwing her onto the floor, leaving her sword driven into his chest. She looks at him with disbelief in her eyes. He grabs the hilt of her sword, but he drops it before her, walking away from it and standing back in a position to fight. Death has honour, and he wishes to claim the lives that he takes not just kill them.

Raven swiftly grabs the blade of her sword, staring straight at Death, analysing the situation on how to fight next. She looks back at her daughter who is trying to get back up. "Stay down!" Raven begs, looking back at Death, who has not flanked or taken advantage of her affection for her daughter that she usually is too afraid to reveal. But he stands there, waiting for her next move.

"I...can help!" Yang argues.

"No! Stay down!" Raven demands again, sounding more like the mother that she was supposed to be. Raven stands back up, holding her Odachi tight, her hair blows majestically in the wind as she stares at him. She then circles him as he walks with her, almost mirroring her. "You were there when we attempted to take those villages, with that Nuckelavee." She says, and he does not respond, but the constant stare he gives is enough to answer for her. "You may take the lives of the weak, but not my daughter." Raven growls as she stares at him.

"Life is never unending, eventually I will claim her aura again." He states. "Even if Salem fails." He concludes, pointing his sword at her like a fencer. They move closer towards each other to fight further, Raven for her daughter, Death for the souls that he is owed. His wings remain by his side as he walks. "She will belong to me." He growls.

"She will not fall into your hands." Raven says, launching towards him with her Odachi, sliding past him as she cuts through his flank, black smoke rupturing from his wound and he growls in pain. She immediately bolts aside when he spins round with his sword and drives it into his back and twists the red blade, pulling it back which pours black smoke from his stomach. She jumps backwards, performing a graceful back-flip as she does it. Death charges right at her, slashing his blade at her over and over, swinging his whole body weight round to cut her in half.

Raven blocks his blade with her sword and kicks him across the side of the head, bringing the blade up again which cuts against his face, but the black smoke repairs the damage immediately. It is like he has an Aura somehow. Death stares at her, plunging his sword into soil with force, shadows squeeze out from the terrain, and flora dying as it rises up. Raven avoids the darkness and she keeps one eye focused on her child to keep her safe from this monster. He removes his sword from the ground, proceeding to attack her further, throwing his sword up in the air and catching the hilt so the blade is pressed against the back of his forearm.

He sprints straight at her, using his Nevermore Angel Wings to propel himself at her, slashing the blade straight at her. Raven steps back into a red portal, one that opens up behind Death and his sword simply cuts into nothing, nothing but air. He snarls in anger as she slashes into his back with her weapon. But it seems to be doing absolutely nothing. Raven continues to fight him, using her surroundings as best as she can, she is an incredible fighter, but she cannot outmatch Death, he has existed for thousands of years if the stories about him are true. The ultimate warrior.

Raven backs up to think of her next move against him, so she stands in a defensive position against Death, now. He rises back up, smoke trailing from his wounds, returning to where she had laid some major hits on him. Immediately regenerating his wounds into fully healed body segments. The best method in her mind is: don't give him a chance to regenerate. She stands there and Death charges the blade back up, growling in anger as he points the blade at her, burning the ground apart beneath her feet that causes immense damage. Raven dives, rolling out of the path of the black and red lightning that bolts towards her, burning through the treeline behind her. She immediately uppercuts him with her sword, blasting smoke into the sky which makes him roar in pain.

His head opens up swiftly, releasing rage and revealing the scorching skull inside, roaring at her with a thousand screams that nearly deafens her like a Banshee. But to shut him up, she swings her sword right across the skull, cutting across the bone and he staggers back in pain, roaring in pain, creating a hauntingly horrible demonic scream as he grabs his head as the metal plates close up around his head. His weakness is his skull inside the helmet. Raven runs back towards him for another attack.

But like her daughter, she is not thinking straight.

He turns to her and he starts moving much faster, darting around her, and each slash with his sword lowering her aura down with force, launching her into the air. He grabs her by the heel and throws her straight into the floor with force. She cries out as he does it, then kicking her in the side, making her yelp, rolling across the floor. "Mom!" Yang screams, certain that she is Raven Branwen.

He slowly approaches her and she reaches out for her sword, but Death steps on her hand with his boot. He scrapes the blade of his sword against her cheek as he looks down at her, cutting into the skin as he looks down at her. Blood trickles down from her skin and she glares up at Death as he prepares to push the blade of his sword into her back.

"Through Death, we return to the Infinite and the Unbound." Death says, bringing down the blade.

Until something smashes right into his chest from his side, throwing him across the field and causing him to crash through multiple trees. Raven looks up and sees his hand reaching down to her. She sees his slicked back black hair and his red eyes, and that smirk on his face as he holds his sword in his hand. She grabs her brother's hand and he pulls her back up to his feet.

The Branwen Twins stand side-by-side, confronting Death as he returns to his feet, glaring at them both with his ancient sword clutched in his hand. Qrow looks back at Sun and Jaune who are stood there.

"Get 'em to the Safehouse." Qrow orders.

"We can help." Jaune argues.

"Just do it." Qrow orders.

Raven looks at him and she just nods. Jaune looks at her, seeing Yang in her face and he already figures it out pretty quick. Jaune nods and they run over to Team R.W.B.Y to help get them out of there. Sun picks up the unconscious Blake who has blood running down from her head. Jaune helps Ruby back to her feet and Neptune picks up Weiss who groans in pain from the attack that she suffered from Death earlier. Kassius runs over to Yang and he picks her up. Blake wakes up slightly, looking at Sun.

"My hero..." She weakly says, making him smirk. They all retreat from the forest, leaving the Branwen Siblings to the Angel of Death himself.

"Corvi et Mortem." Death speaks, ancient tongue for Raven and Death or Crow and Death. Death chuckles at the symbolism of this fight at the two warriors stand before him. "You fight a battle that you cannot win." Death says.

"You will not harm my nieces." Qrow snarls at him.

"You mortals never understand." Death sighs. "I will always be there to bring you to the Infinite and the Unbound, no matter how or when they die. But Extinction for life is coming, not even you can stop that." Death says to them both.

"We're not too worried." Raven says with a smirk.

Death spreads his wings out and he launches his body directly towards them both, and they both jump right at Death, their swords held back as they jump at him. Death lands in between the two twins, fighting them with his sharp wings and his sword as they both perform incredible skill with their swordplay. Raven swings her Odachi with speed and power into his metal Curtana, cursed with the darkness of the Grimm. Her Odachi slams into his blade that he wields in one hand.

Behind him, he slashes his razor sharp feathered Wings at Qrow as he fights him with his sword, spinning the blade round extremely quickly to slice through the thick layer of armour that Death wields. Death spins round with force, slicing his wings at them as he does it, lifting his form into the air. The Branwens are thrown backwards from the blast his wings make as he thrashes them downwards. He then spreads his wings out, whilst remaining in the air and he swings them both forward, launching salient feathers down toward them as well.

Raven throws her sword up, catching it by the hilt and she carves one of the feathers in two as it darts towards her, passing past her elegantly and stabbing into the ground behind her. Qrow dodges them and cuts them down before they can even get close. Death throws his body down toward them, stabbing his Curtana straight at Qrow's feet, the blast throws him from his feet and in the air. Death grabs Qrow by the ankle, swinging round and launching him into her sister with force. He immediately stands ready again, walking towards them.

He thrashes the blade of his sword at them and Qrow smashes his blade against the Curtana, batting it aside. He jumps back and the clockwork in the sword begins to gear up, cracking to life, shifting the metal that makes the blade of his sword. The sword transforms into Scythe form and he jumps right at Death and Death stands there with his Curtana as Qrow leaps at him with his teeth gritted. Qrow's Scythe carves Death in half, smoke erupting from his body.

The two halves stagger away from one another, blackness erupting from them and Qrow lands on the grass, turning to the Angel. But then...the two halves are pulled back together by the darkness, returning back to one form. He turns and stares straight at Qrow, making his eyes widen in disbelief at how this is even possible. Death suddenly appears in front of Qrow in a pulse of black smoke, grabbing him by the neck, lifting him off the floor, staring straight into his eyes with those glowing red ones. "You fight like a younger man, nothing held back...admirable...but mistaken." Death says with a threatening tone of voice.

"Don't call me old!" Qrow barks in anger, kicking both of his feet into the head of Death, straight into the blade of Raven's Odachi as she pushes it upwards, cutting his head in half. But it is effortless because his head just pulls itself back together, using the darkness to fix itself. They both continue to fight him, however. Raven uses her portals to warp around him to confuse him, cutting across his body for extra damage. Raven sheathes hr Odachi and the sheath switches the dust type, to white which she uses to freeze things. She swings her Odachi round with force, sending a ray of ice straight at Death which encases him in ice completely.

But the shadows step out of the ice, leaving the sculpture where it was stood. Raven's eyes widen in shock, there is nothing that she can do to stop him, ice does not work and that probably means that burning him will have the exact same effect. They cannot beat him, he is more like a Spirit than a Grimm. Unlike anything that has ever challenged them before.

Death moves towards her and Qrow leaps in the way, using the blade of his sword to block his Curtana, kicking him in the side of the head. His Scythe has descended back into sword form as he fights. The blade folds down, launching rounds straight at Death, blowing holes in his armour which are healed by the smoke that makes up his armoured body. Death brings his sword upwards with force and Qrow blocks it with both hands, pressing his hand against the sword to hold him back.

The Nevermore Wings stretch out above him and he looks down at Qrow, the plates of metal slide apart and reveals the burning skull once more. Qrow leans back, feeling fear when he sees that horrible face. "Well you're just a ray of sunshine, ain't ya?" Qrow sarcastically says, until a blade erupts through the skull of death, the red tip stopping right before Qrow's face, making his eyes widen. Death howls in agony, stepping away from Qrow, pressing his hands against his face where she had just stabbed through.

He feels pain when they attack there and it does repair itself however. Qrow jumps at Death but Death kicks him in the chest with his armoured boot, sending Qrow sailing across the field, tumbling across the grass. Qrow throws his sword as he did when he thought Tyrian, pressing his feet against it to slow himself down. He jumps off it and grabs the hilt, dragging it from the soil, charging right at him.

Death flies towards him, using his wings to glide across the sky towards him. But his Sister stands by his side as they once did when they were together as team. Death spins his body around in a corkscrew fashion, launching the feathers at him. He lands straight in front of them, and he slams the blade of his Curtana with great force, so much force that it knocks them both on the floor, wiping their red aura out upon impact, it channels from their body and they both groan in pain. Death has beaten the Branwen Twins and he approaches them both with his sword at the ready. "You fought admirably..." Death states.

"But your fight...has come to an end." Death says, lifting his sword in the air. Qrow and Raven look at each other and they both close their eyes to accept their deaths.

Until...

A faint white light appears behind Death, catching his attention. He looks over his shoulder and he looks at who stands behind him. The Branwens gasp in shock and disbelief.

The white hooded girl looks at death with her silver eyes, holding a staff in her hand, glowing like an angel at him. Her black and red hair blows in the wind in the forest and she walks towards the demonic Angel of Death himself. She is a spitting image of Ruby...Of Summer Rose. Death stares straight at her and she walks towards him, and the plant life that died under his presence returns to life as she walks towards him.

The green returns and Death looks around in confusion. "Impossible..." Death states in utter shock and disbelief. She looks at death with anger in hr large eyes, pointing her staff right at him, the glowing white crystal inside blasts light straight into him. It nearly blinds Qrow and Raven as they shield their eyes. Death is pushes across the soil from the impact of this magic that she uses against him, burning against his armour, pushing the shadows from his body.

He roars in pain and rage as he tries to fight against it. She continues to hold her stance, his body becoming weaker as he tries to walk towards her. But then, when the shadows recede from his body, the armour plating begins to crumble and float away with the smoke, before with his roars, the light completely consumes him, destroying his form completely.

She lowers the staff and looks at Qrow and Raven, at where Death was once stood. They both are frozen with awe as they look at her, their mouths agape as she stands before them. Summer smiles right at them, but specifically at Qrow, turning and walking away. Her white cloaked body gently fades away as she walks off, disappearing as quickly as she arrived, destroying the Knight of Death instantly. Qrow and Raven look at each other in confusion. "Qrow...did you see what I just saw?" Raven asks him and he looks at her with the exact same expression.

"That was Summer...without a doubt." He says with shock still sat in his body.

Raven exhales, sheathing her Odachi into her sheathe for a couple of seconds to recover from that fight. "Just like old times." Qrow chuckles. Raven laughs a little as well.

"Yeah...her saving us all the time." Raven recalls with a smile, looking at where she was stood. But then Qrow looks at her.

"We need you back, Raven. Things are worse than I imagined, I didn't even know of the Knights of Grimm. Did you?" He asks her.

"Yeah." Raven answers. "I have met Death on occasion, along with Fury, Fear and Loss." Raven explains. She then starts walking down the grass with him, sighing as her hair blows in the wing. She places her hand on her hip. "I never believed the legends...until I met Fear." Raven remembers.

"What happened?" Qrow asks.

She sighs, placing her hand against the side of her head. "He killed a lot of our people." Raven says, mentioning the unknown group again. "Just like Menagerie...they are wiping entire villages out in one fatal swoop at a time. And our group are now on the run, I have been trying to find them ever since. But I..." Raven explains to him.

"You saved her again...I thought the rule was only one time?" Qrow says.

"I guess maybe our chat about family rubbed off on me." She says with a smile. Qrow smiles back at her.

"You need to help us, this is bigger than I thought...than Ozpin thought." Qrow corrects. Raven sighs, shaking her head.

"I can't." She says, looking at the destroyed forest that the battle took place in.

"Why? You said it yourself, this is getting worse. We can't defeat Salem while divided." Qrow states.

"I know what I said, Qrow." Raven says to him, looking back at him. "I just...I need to know that they are still out there." Raven continues. "If I can reunite them...I can lead them to fight with us." She says, showing a very big change of heart. She then looks at the floor. "Ruby's grown so much since I last saw her...looks just like her mother." Raven says. Qrow looks down and he smiles.

"Yeah..." Qrow says and Raven affectionately smiles. "At least tell her that her mother is there for her?" Qrow asks her. Raven legitimately begins to think about it. She stands there and she thinks to herself, then she looks at her brother again.

"I can't stay for long." Raven says.

"You won't have to. But she will have questions, just a fair warning." Qrow says with a chuckle in his voice.

"I bet she does." Raven says with a sigh, truly showing that she does love her daughter a lot, but she is caught between her people and her baby. She stands there, thinking and thinking. And then she finally returns with an answer. "Alright." She says with a smile. Qrow smiles.

"That's the Raven I remember." Qrow says. "Come on." Qrow says. The Branwens take off as they shape-shit into Raven and Crow forms, gliding away from the forest to return to the Safehouse. Cinder watches them leave from the forest, she hid with the others whilst the battle was going on. She is terrified of the Knights of Grimm.

And for good reason.

 

**Salem**

Her red irises within the black scleras stare out at her Sanctum, the deep purple skies and the dark Dust Crystals protruding out from the ground like the bones of some kind of prehistoric beast left behind to fossilise through time itself.

Both Emerald and Mercury are sat at the large table that is built before them, their bruises and cuts healed from their aura that surrounds their bodies. Emerald has a cloth in her hand that she uses to clean her weapons on her lap, sighing as she looks at Mercury. He has a screwdriver in his grasp, repairing the joints in his cybernetic leg. Some dust capsules on the table in front of him as he continues his work.

Emerald sighs, rubbing the sweat from her brow as she looks at him, setting one of her weapons back down onto the table. “Mercury? How are doing?” She softly asks him, trying not to get the attention of Salem on them. But she knows, she is also not a fool and can assume that they do not overly like her, due to what she did to them as punishment for Cinder.

Mercury sighs, taking that Screwdriver from his leg, placing it on the table. “Yeah...still aching a bit though.” He admits, then Salem turns to them and their hearts stop for a second from fear as she looks right at them.

“I am truly sorry for that, but we needed Cinder Fall to understand her failure and she had to be punished for it.” Salem states as she walks towards them both, taking her seat at her end of the table, placing both her hands on the table. The silence in the Council Chamber truly is intimidating, especially in the presence of the Dark Queen herself. Emerald can feel her heart beating heavily, the muscles in her hands quivering with fear of the woman that stares at her. Her spidery white silky hair splayed outwards.

“Why?” Emerald questions, her voice breaking slightly as she speaks.

“Please – speak your mind, dear child.” Salem requests gently with a smile, one that seems very kind and affectionate, but it is anything but. That is how Salem gets people to trust her sometimes, as it clearly worked on Cinder to reveal the fact she was lying. And Cinder clearly copies that same skill by tricking people with her beauty and her smile. Her voice is even tender as well, like that of a Siren, tricking those into a false sense of security, and then she strikes.

“Why did you have to torture her like that? Have Fury do the things that he did? Putting her in a cell would have been enough, wouldn’t it?” Emerald questions, in which Mercury looks at her with concern in his eyes.

“Em...what are you doing?” He questions with shock, afraid of Salem that much, yet the Dark Queen has nothing against someone questioning her methods.

“No...please...” Salem says, holding her hand out to Emerald, seeing the concern she has for Cinder.

“Did you really have to humiliate her the way you did?” Emerald questions, and then Salem sits there, looking like she understands. Then she finally gives her the answer she was waiting for, waiting for what really did feel like an hour of silence before she finally said something. Salem stands up as she speaks.

“There was a time once when I was not what I am now...I was small, tiny and insignificant to the world. Betrayed and alone.” Salem explains as she walks to the large window that looks out at the huge landscape, skyscrapers of purple dust protruding from the ground. Distant rumbles of thunder echoing in the distance and the Fractured Moon watching them constantly. “And then _he_ showed me the truth.”

“Who?” Mercury asks her, confused of what she means, and Salem turns round slightly, only turning her body round.

“The one who made me what I am now.” Salem answers, not giving this mysterious person a name. “He showed me that people will follow through fear, through fear comes respect. And respect comes loyalty.”Salem explains.

“Cinder never made us fear her, she would punish us if we stepped out of line but she only hit me. I am used to that kind of punishment, but she saved me from famine. Saved Mercury from self-destruction.” Emerald explains, remembering the time that Cinder gave her a way out of her dying life, and saved Mercury from succumbing to his wounds after killing his father. Mercury touches his cybernetic legs and he sighs.

“Yes...she did.” Salem agrees, inspired by Cinder’s ability to get two people to follow her by giving them what they wanted. Salem looks round and she sighs. “And so did he – he gave me a new purpose...one that saved me from my own destruction. Just like both of you.” She says to them both.

Salem stands at the precipice of her home, looking at the valley of black dust crystals that protrude from the ground like an old bone. She looks over her shoulder when she hears the sound of a Knight approaching. She turns, seeing Death forming from the shadows. He walks before her and looks at her. She holds her hands behind her back as she looks at him. "And? Were they successful?" Salem asks Death.

"No. The Silver Eyed Warrior's sister defeated them in combat, she can absorb the attacks of her enemies and strike back even harder." Death reports, holding his Curtana in his hand.

"And she used her Fall Maiden capabilities..." Salem sighs as she walks into the hall.

"Indeed." Death agrees.

"What of the girl?" She asks.

"Still alive, when I went to claim her, the Corvus Twins stopped me." Death explains, speaking of Raven and Qrow. "And Summer Rose appeared." He says. Salem stops and her eyes widen, with an emotion that has never been seen before: Fear. She stand there and looks right at Death.

"How is that possible?" Salem questions.

"Unknown." Death says coldly, like a machine. Salem stammers. "But she had the qualities of a Knight, able to form wherever she chooses." Death explains.

"Ozpin taught her something..." Salem snarls, clenching her hand into a fist. She stand there, closing her eyes as she thinks. They then crack open and her eye twitches. "Enough games." Salem says, bringing him to attention.

"Ma'am?" Death asks.

"Death, return to Mistral with the other Knights. Emerald and Mercury. We have work to do in Vale. Mistral falls in the coming night." Salem says, walking past him with clenched fists. Mercury and Emerald both stand up, and Death watches them both as they follow them.

He turns and he vanishes into a black portal that opens in front of them.

The Fall is coming...

Soon...


	16. Family

**Adam**

Bullets whoosh through the air over his red spiky hair, with his shotgun scabbard in his hand and the red blade of Wilt and Blush in the other. The Acolytes of Lien aim their rifles at their location, firing constantly, cracks from every single shot pulled from the triggers. Metallic bangs burst from the impacts of bullets against the sheet of metal, sparks dancing across the floor that glimmer brightly. One of the Mercenaries, whom is wearing a high tech dust backpack with four huge pistons protruding out from it with orange dust flowing through it. The pistons crackle with electricity from the dust loaded inside, and then he suddenly warps towards the White Fang at supersonic speeds, the wind rushing past his body as he moves. There is a trail of red electrical matter behind the path that the Mercenary had taken, holding a Sub Machine Gun in his grasp, aiming it straight at Adam as he appears next to him.

Adam spins round, and he slashes the red blade of his Chokutō upwards across the chest plate of the soldier, sparks and crimson red blood erupt from the impact of the sword, knocking him into the air. The soldier screams in pain, as Adam rises up and he spins Blush through his fingers, firing the shotgun straight into his sternum, the impact throws his cadaver into the ground. Shards of shotgun shell imbedded into his ribs and lungs inside. He lies on the ground, dead from Adam’s lethal attack, he spirals round and he deflects a bullet from one of the soldiers, managing to send it flying right back. The bullet punctures straight through the visor of the Acolyte of Lien Soldier, shattering the glowing red glass, blowing the back of his skull apart. The soldier collapses to the ground from the lethal hit.

Adam aims his shotgun at another soldier, launching shrapnel from the barrel at them, hitting one in the chest. The soldier jolts back from the impact, crashing to the floor. Adam stands there and one of the soldiers shoots him in the arm. Adam yells in pain from the impact, pushing the blade of his sword into the ground to hold himself up. He grits his teeth in anger from the pain, blood leaking down his arm. His aura begins to regenerate around the wound, crackles of red aura reconstructing the damage made to his body, the blood still trickling down his bicep. The wound closes up slowly and he rises back up, staring straight at that soldier who rolls behind a crate, reloading a new magazine into his rifle.

A second Mercenary, wearing the same type of Dust Backpack charges towards him again with a Katana in his grasp, slashing across Adam’s side, scraping his aura and causing the warrior to fall to one knee. He slows down behind Adam and holds the sword over his head to behead him, swinging it downwards to finish him off, until the electrified whip wraps around the blade and pulls it from his hand. The soldier spins round with widened eyes, seeing the owner of the weapon.

Ilia emerges from the shadows, her skin mimicking the darkness of the shadows with her stern eyes glaring directly at the soldier. The soldier snarls with anger through his helmet and he raises his submachine gun in one hand, firing it towards her. Ilia swings her Whip back and forth with electrical energy crackling constantly to deflect every single bullet that flies her way, and she immediately lashes it forward, wrapping it around his neck. He chokes with pain and she yanks him towards her, swinging her fist with all her might, knocking him onto the ground.

But the Acolyte of Lien is not finished yet, he uses the pack and charges the dust up into it, the releases one powerful electrical pulse that knocks her back, allowing him to stand back up and slash his Katana at her. Ilia hops back and she just dodges his blade with her skilful movements. She twirls round and kicks him across the head, cracking the glowing visor but he still does not fall to the ground. He immediately swings round and manages to land a hit with his sword, slicing her cheek with the Katana, blood drawn from the hit as she falls to the floor. These soldiers are lethal at combat, but her maroon aura slowly healing the deep cut back up. The soldier stares at her and he sprints towards her, grabbing her by the throat, throwing her into the wall, she yelps in pain from his aggressive attack. “This ends now!” The Acolyte of Lien yells, holding his sword above his head, about to plunge it into her soft stomach.

Until suddenly Wilt erupts through his chest, Ilia can see the soldier’s eyes widen and hear his gasp of shock and pain as he stares at the sword that sticks out his ribs. He falls to his knees, and Adam is stood behind the soldier, pressing his boot to his back to push his corpse off, and pull the sword from him. He flicks the sword, throwing the thick warm blood from it after finishing him off.

Adam approaches Ilia, holding his hand out to her to help her stand back up, Ilia looks up at him and she sighs with relief with a smile. She takes his hand and stands back up, looking around to see the soldiers have retreated from the scene. Except for one who meets the unlucky fate of taking the Chainsword blade straight into his chest, the White Fang Lieutenant staring into his eyes furiously as he cuts him down. Blood spraying everywhere and covering his white and black attire.

Ilia looks at Adam with confusion, noticing a similar expression on his own face as he stands there, sheathing Wilt back into Blush slowly. “Was this supposed to happen? Was Cinder always going to betray us?” Ilia inquires, clearly informed on everything that has happened in this deal between the White Fang and Salem’s Forces. The White Fang Lieutenant approaches, sheathing his Chainsword as he walks towards them, speaking with his deep and monstrous voice.

“She’s a human, of course she betrayed us. It is what her kind do, lie and betray.” The White Fang Lieutenant resentfully snarls as he approaches.

Adam clenches his hand into a fist as he stands there, teeth gritted together as Fennec and Corsac approach, sheathing their Spiralling Daggers after killing a couple of straggler soldiers. “When I find Cinder...” Adam growls with anger, he cannot even describe the ways in which he will punish her for the betrayal she has delivered. Though the punishments cannot possibly even compare to the one she has already had to endure for lying to the Dark Queen.

“You won’t need to look very far.” Cinder’s voice unexpectedly vows as she emerges from behind them, her Obsidian Bow and Arrow drawn back and aimed at them all. Adam and Ilia both spin round with shock, whereas the Lieutenant, Fennec and Corsac have already readied their weapons. The Chainsword growls as the engine inside of it activates, smoke pouring from the diesel engine. Cinder sighs as she rolls her eye in frustration, sick and tired of idiots trying to challenge the Fall Maiden. “Really? Adam might be able to challenge me but the rest of you? Please.” She laughs sarcastically with a raised eyebrow.

“You’d be surprised.” The White Fang Lieutenant hints with a stern and monstrous voice as always, ready to challenge her at will. Cinder sets her eye on Adam Taurus who just sheathes his sword, an action that confused Ilia and the others. He steps forward towards the Fall Maiden before them.

“We had a deal.” Adam snarls with anger in his voice, even betrayal.

“I know, and I was hoping we could have helped fulfil our end of the bargain. But I am afraid my master has altered the deal, as you are no longer of use to her plans.” Cinder explains, which does not seem to defuse the others. “Believe me, this was not what I had anticipated for our deal when I offered it – I keep my promises.” She assures, in which the Lieutenant just scoffs with a followed up growl.

“You’ll pardon us for not taking you at your word, Fall.” He growls with a ferocious animosity in his voice. The Lieutenant is stood there like a rabid dog, only being held back by his commanding officer right now, but if Adam wanted to, he could let him off the leash. Despite being potentially no match for a Fall Maiden, they could all be certain that the man would still give it his best shot. Cinder’s amber eye moves from the Lieutenant with a low hanging eyelid, as if she really just does not seem to give a damn, seeing Adam’s scowl directed towards her.

“I am sorry for what happened at Menagerie – I didn’t know about the plan with Fury.” Cinder explains, her hand ever so gently touching her sternum where the scarred handprint is on her body.

“Fury?” Ilia questions, hungry for understanding what she means, and what an explanation that would be.

“The Knights of Grimm, never heard of them? Read the story, it'll be easier.” Cinder recommends to her, leaving Ilia with some answers for her question still left in the dirt. Ilia even looks a little sad with her head hanging low as she ponders one what that all means. “They destroyed Menagerie and they killed everyone there. I didn't know that they were really real...” She says to Adam, walking back and forth as she explains, destroying her Obsidian Bow merely by releasing it, letting it crumble into burning orange embers. She then stops and looks right at Adam. “If I were you? I'd run, take everyone you still have left and run. Because the Knights of Grimm are going to destroy everything.”

“We have lost communications with most of our outposts on Remnant. A few days ago they couldn't stop responding. Now? Nothing.” Adam states as he stands there, he would be lying if he said that he was not scared of what is happening in the world.

“The Knights wiped them out, or are still killing them as we speak.” Cinder assures.

This fairly cold response leaves the White Fang members shocked and in a state of doubt.

“Impossible, they were heavily fortified.” Fennec says, his Fox ears flicking up as he hears her say that.

“So was Menagerie...and that thing and all those Grimm just strolled right in.” Ilia says with fear in her voice, her voice becoming shaky.

“So we just run? Hide?” Adam scoffs, uncertain if he agrees with her suggestion.

“They will kill you, eventually. Just survive for as long as you can.” Cinder recommends, with such less seductive speech as she had before when they first met. Something that Adam has caught onto in her voice. Cinder turns to walk away from them but Adam stops her, walking after her.

“Wait.” Adam demands. Cinder stops in her tracks, looking over her shoulder at him slightly. “What did they do to you?” He asks her, which might be the most concerned thing he has ever asked another human being. She looks at him, grabbing her dress and pushing it down slightly, showing the scarred hand print on her collarbone and shoulder.

The one given to her by Fury.

“By the gods...” Corsac mutters.

“The Hand of the Devil.” Fennec describes as he stares at the scar of his handprint on her once tender smooth skin.

“One of them did that to you?” Ilia asks and Cinder just looks at her.

“Fury did.” Cinder answers, pulling the dress back up into place. The sun is beginning to rise on the Fourth Day, they are running out of time.

“Why do you serve them?” Adam questions. She looks at him, a tear of fear forming in her eye.

“Because I'm afraid.” She says, turning and walking away, leaving the White Fang where they stand. Adam looks at the blood on his hand and he moves his fingers around as he looks at it. He then looks at the Fractured Moon as it hides behind the mountains.

The Knights of Grimm are killing everything in their path.

They are on their way to wiping all life on Remnant out forever.

 

**Oscar**

Oscar sits in a chair beside Winter. She is asleep, still recovering from her wounds that she suffered. Sage and Scarlet are outside, keeping an eye out for the others if they get here. They have no idea of the battle that just took place in the forest. Yet they have heard the distant firefight between the White Fang and the Acolytes of Lien. Most likely making sure that the Mercenaries are not approaching their location as they wait for Weiss’ sister to recover.

Oscar looks at Winter as she sleeps, making sure that she is breathing properly, with no life-support, and he needs to keep an eye on her. Since he does not have the strength yet to challenge any of their foes, he cannot be risked in combat. “Things are worse than I feared.” Ozpin says in Oscar's head, making Oscar his head turn slightly as he listens.

“What do you mean?” Oscar asks him, looking at the cane that is leant against the sofa that Winter is sleeping on. The cane has plenty of tricks up its sleeve, and those tricks must be very lethal for him to be able to challenge a Fall Maiden in a one on one battle in an enclosed space like they had in Beacon.

“I heard the stories of the Knights of Grimm...but I never believed. I thought it was simply another fairy tale.” Ozpin explains, sounding ashamed of himself for not knowing everything. “Shows what I know.” And since Oscar can feel his emotions, he can actually help Ozpin in return for once.

“You can't know everything. To be honest, it's kinda refreshing to know that you don't know everything.” Oscar chuckles a little to him. Ozpin chuckles in Oscar's head as well, the two of them seem to ironically have a similar sense of humour.

“Well...I suppose now there's another thing we have in common.” Ozpin states, most likely smiling in his Astral Form.

“It is surprising, though. That you don't know everything.” He says.

“I'm not that old, Oscar.” Ozpin says, which makes Oscar smirk a little as he jokes around with the voice in his head. Which to others must make him look like a complete and utter lunatic. He sits there and he picks up the cane, looking at it.

“You said you've heard of them? From who?” Oscar asks him. “The Knights?”

“My mother, she told me the story when I was young. I was young when she passed and the left me that story. I never paid it much mind.” Ozpin explains. “Interesting, so they do appear to be real.”

“What about your father?” Oscar asks him.

Ozpin is quiet for a couple of seconds. “My father would raise me with his fist. I was not by his side on his deathbed, I did not wish to grant him that. Fathers are not given the love of their sons, they must earn it, and my father certainly failed to earn my love.” Oscar sits there, feeling for Ozpin for his childhood, having a painful childhood like that is not something that someone should ever have to suffer through.

Sometimes some children wish that their parents could be dead so then they did not torment them as they did when they were alive. But like Oscar and Ruby, there are those who lacked a parent for a long time, with so few memories to call on. Same with Yang as well in that regard with Raven, even though she still kept her eyes on her.

“I never knew my parents...only my Aunt.” Oscar says to him. Oscar doesn't notice that Winter is waking up, hearing him speaking to himself. But she doesn't say anything, she just lets him speak to Ozpin, she might not have a clue about Ozpin being in his head, but she does not wish to interfere. “I don’t know if they were good people or bad people – if they were huntsmen or just traders...if they loved me...or if I was a mistake.” He says, in which begins to bring tears to his eyes. She sniffles, stifling the sadness in him and replacing it with neutral thoughts. “For all I know...they could have died somewhere nobody witnessed it, left to be buried by the trees.” He morbidly says, clearly channelling the poetic speech of Ozpin just from his presence alone.

“Don't think that way, I am sure that she is fine.” Ozpin says.

“Do you really believe that we can beat them? Beat Salem?” Oscar asks him, truly desperate to believe that the monster in the back of all their minds is not as indestructible as they fear.

“I do not know, Oscar...but I believe in trying. Isn’t that all we can hope for? Hope?” Ozpin simply puts it as he speaks to the Ex-Farmhand Boy.

Oscar’s thoughts trail to Ruby, perhaps because Ozpin was referencing her to begin with. He sighs, nervously as well since he is a young boy who has a crush on a cute girl the same age as him. “You’re talking about Ruby, aren’t you?” Oscar asks him nervously, hearing the little chuckle by Ozpin in the back of his mind.

“She really is remarkable, isn’t she?” He asks him, clearly able to tell that the young man has feelings for her.

Oscar sighs, rubbing his legs. “You’ve been reading my thoughts again, haven’t you?”

“As I said, son – they are _our_ thoughts now.” Ozpin states, making the boy sigh yet again as well, embarrassed that he knows how he feels. “It is completely normal, Oscar – the feelings you have for her. It is natural for somebody your age.” Ozpin assures, like he is a father to the boy.

Oscar begins to blush slightly as he sits there. “Yeah...she is remarkable.” He admits with an adorable little smile on his face. “She must have been one of the greatest Huntresses at Beacon, right?” He presumes.

Ozpin chuckles, since he was not there, and Ozpin saw the many shenanigans the little girl had at his school.

“In some ways, yes – and in others, no.” Ozpin states, and Oscar raises his eyebrow.

“What do you mean?” He asks.

“She has her quirks, her faults – just like everyone else. She struggles to fight without her beloved Crescent Rose, and she has a heart of pure gold. I fear she may be too innocent for this world.” Ozpin sadly says, describing Ruby’s main faults perfectly. “But she also possesses something unquantifiable – a spark – that can ignite the fires of hope even in the darkest of times.” Ozpin explains, speaking as poetically as ever.

Oscar ponders on what he told him, and he cannot help but ask. “Wait – what kind of quirks?” He asks, and Ozpin cannot help but chuckle.

“I remember very well, that one day I came back to my office with a plate of cookies on my desk, given to me by her. I thought it was sweet, and I somehow did not notice the bucket of milk above my head.” Ozpin describes, and Oscar can merely imagine what happened, and it makes him laugh to imagine seeing Ozpin getting utterly drenched in milk.

“She did that to you? The Headmaster? Did she get in trouble?” Oscar asks.

“I had her clean it up, but I could not help but admire her courage.” Ozpin explains. “How I hope she can perform the same prank again someday.” Ozpin admits, reminiscing back to the old days.

Oscar pictures her beautiful face and he his eyes move downwards. “This must be really hard on her too.” Oscar says, as he and Ozpin both look out at the city of Mistral.

“It most assuredly is.” Ozpin agrees, feeling for her.

But while he sits there, Ozpin notices that Winter has been listening. “I believe Winter Schnee is awake.” Ozpin says, causing him to look at her as she looks at him. Winter sits up, she looks much better than she was before, less pale and more colour in her body. She pushes some of her hair from her eye, rubbing some dust from her white hair. Oscar feels a little nervous and shy about the fact that he has just made himself look like a fool.

“Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." Oscar says to her, as gentle as he always is to people.

“It's fine.” She assures with a smile, Winter is showing a much warmer and kinder personality than she usually portrays, maybe it's because he is just a kid...or something has changed. The whole world is changing after all with the return of the Knights of Grimm. Oscar looks down at the floor again.

“Are you okay?” He asks her.

“My father tried to kill me and my mother's a drunk. Honestly...I wish I didn't know my parents." Winter says to him, explaining her past with Jacques and Willow Schnee, but he does not even realise that she is mentioning her version of Oscar’s story about the mystery of his parents. “I had to mother my sister, essentially, because my mother was too drunk to raise her. It can always be worse.” She explains and assures. Oscar looks at Winter, and now he feels for her, truly understanding why the Schnees are the way they are.

Suddenly the door bursts open and Scarlet and Sage hold it open. Oscar nearly jumps out of his skin when they run in.

"Oscar! We need some help!" Scarlet says, swiping a table over. Neptune carries Weiss in first as Jaune and Kassius set Ruby and Yang down in the living room. Sun is the last to come in, holding Blake in his arms, she has fallen unconscious once again. Weiss coughs in pain, Winter bolts up from her chair, grabbing her wound from a sharp shock of pain, but she is straight to her little sister's side. Death's attack on her was extremely lethal, and it has done some serious damage to her. Blood leaks from her mouth as she coughs.

“Weiss!” Winter screams in fear, rushing to her side as fast as she can with her wound still present.

“Winter?” Weiss wheezes. “Is that you?” She asks.

“Yeah, I'm here.” She assures as she caresses her cheek. Winter looks at Neptune with scared eyes. “What the hell happened?” She shouts in fear for her sister.

“The Knight of Death, he was there. He attacked her.” Neptune relays. Winter doesn't even ask, she clearly has no idea of what is happening with the Knights of Grimm at the moment, but she just wants her sister safe. Sun wipes the blood from Blake's head as he tends to her wound that Death placed upon her when throwing her into the ground.

Ruby and Yang weakly lay on the floor. Yang is the strongest at the moment, still able to keep her eyes open and sit upright. But Ruby is having trouble with her breathing. Weiss continues to cough in pain, Oscar finds a bowl and she spits blood into it, crying out in pain from her internal injuries.

“What do we do?” Winter asks as she holds her hand.

“I don't know!” Scarlet freaks out, he is not a medic, he only knows how to fix wounds that he can see, but this is internal.

"She has to go through it. Whatever is happening needs to run its course." Oscar says to them, revealing some knowledge behind this, but this is simply the combination of Ozpin's mind that gives him this information. Winter looks at Oscar and then at her sister, begging the gods to keep her safe.

Her aura must be given time to recover and repair the damage done to her.

Covered in bruises and cuts.

They are all left with the question in their minds.

_If this is what Death managed to do to Team R.W.B.Y by himself..._

_What hope do they have against all four?_

**Ruby**

“Ruby...” Pyrrha whispers.

Ruby looks around, not in the physical world...she has returns to the Charred Forest that she has found herself in, in her nightmares that she has suffered from. She wanders through them, hearing the voices of Pyrrha now calling out to her. She looks around and she sees Pyrrha on her knees, but it is no longer Cinder drawing the bow at her. It is Death, holding the Glass Bow as he stares at her.

Pyrrha looks right into the Angel of Death's eyes as he stands there, aiming the arrow at her. Ruby runs towards the moment of time and she sees the arrow leaving the bowstring, launching towards Pyrrha. Ruby stops and so does the arrow. Ruby starts to investigate the scene, by taking a step back, the arrow rewinds in time, back into the bow. But as soon as she move forward, it moves toward her again.

A moment in time that has been fixed and there is absolutely nothing that can be done to change that. “Do you believe in Destiny?” Pyrrha whispers in the darkness as she remains on her knees.

“Little Red, Little Red...what have we here?” Roman's voice asks around her. Ruby turns as she sees him walking around her with his cane in his hand, following every step he takes with a thud. He passes through one of the trees, looking down at the body on the floor with a smirk. Pyrrha lies on the floor with an arrow through her sternum and Death holds his hand out to her body, consuming her aura and reducing her corporeal form to ashes.

He walks before Ruby as the moment in time collapses and he smirks at her, his orange hair covering one of his eyes as he takes the cigar from his mouth. “Welcome to the real world, Ruby.” Torchwick says, vanishing in a cloud of smoke.

“An Eye For An Eye...” Tyrian whispers around her. The screeches of the Nuckelavee echo constantly through the broken landscape as she looks around, seeing the monster in the distance as it stretches its arm out, crushing trees with one swoop.

Ruby continues to walk across the land, feeling the ash under her feet where the land is crumbling like snow from every step that she takes. But when she walks, a gasp escapes her lungs when she sees him stood there.

The Knight of Fear.

He stares straight at Ruby with his Golden Eyes, wielding his staff in his hand with dark green smoke trailing from his body. He walks towards her. “Everything has a fear, even the mighty elephant has a fear.” He says to her, holding his hand out. “Tell me, Miss Rose, what do you fear?” He asks.

His eyes glow bright gold and suddenly a cloud of dark smoke erupts from his decomposing hand, sinking into the pores in her skin and Ruby screams in terror. Hearing Pyrrha screaming in agony. And then the cries of everyone she cares about dying over and over again. From Weiss, to Yang to Blake, to Jaune...So many screams of pain all happening at once. Fear stares at her and Ruby presses her hands to her head and Fear grabs her by the neck, lifting her off the floor. “Don't be afraid...everyone wakes up from their nightmares eventually.” Fear promises.

But then...

The Knight of Fear rots away before her very eyes, freaking her out as she sees the trees shattering before her very eyes.

Ruby gasps when she sees something forming from the clouds.

A pair of glowing red eyes watch her and a tornado of shadows falls from the sky and crashes down into the ground right in front of her. The whispers and the howls of the forest surround her. She backs up as she sees the smoke fading around the entity that landed before her.

Something stands before her...

Made from black smoke with a pair of glowing red eyes, staring straight into her soul with a glowing red smirk on its face.

Then the deep demonic and monstrous voice emerges.

She can hear a chilling song echoing with the voices of people she knows singing it.

Yang, Weiss, Blake, Jaune, Nora, Ren, Sun, Neptune...

All of them are singing the chilling song, and yet she does not know what it means.

 

_“A grin as candid as children, as sweet as bee honey,”_

_“His voice kind and sharp, as the blade of a razor,”_

_“Brings you from elder to youth, within the blink of an eye.”_

_“Wishes be granted, be it: love, riches or luck,”_

_“His face like a mirror, fear shall consume you,”_

_“Anger through truth, loss through acceptance.”_

_“For the end of your journey, Death will come for you,”_

_“Charcoal Cities, come waiting for you,”_

_“The Soothsayer shall wait, for his voice will control you,”_

_“Torment and Control, till the moon will shatter...”_

 

As the creepy song comes to a close, Ruby watches as the huge scorched trees bend before her very eyes, creaking and screaming as the world seems to shatter around her. Seeing the moon shattering into a thousand pieces in the sky. The shockwave blows past the terrifying entity that stood before her, red eyes staring into her soul constantly.

On cue, the nightmare comes apart around Ruby and she gasps for air like she has been underwater for a while, sitting upright with wide silver eyes. She looks straight over to Weiss and she has stopped coughing and she is asleep. How the tables have turned, now Winter is the one hoping that her sister is okay, holding her hand desperately to hear her wake back up. Ruby looks over her shoulder when she hears two squawks.

A Raven and a Crow stand on the windowsill.

She blinks and they turn into her Uncle and Aunt, Qrow and Raven Branwen. “Hello, Ruby.” Raven greets with a smile.

“Hi...” Ruby says.


	17. Parents

**Ruby**

She looks at the two Branwens as they both look at her. Qrow is the first to walk over to her, whilst Raven looks at the little girl, seeing so much of Summer in her. Raven actually has a slight tear in her eye, feeling nostalgia as she looks at the daughter of one of her closest friends she has ever known. Even her personality is just like Summer’s; they are both so similar in every single way, even when it comes to both outfits and weapon choice.

Qrow crouches down to her side, gently placing his hand on her shoulder. "How are you holding up, kiddo? You took one hell of a hit down there." Qrow asks her, checking for any wounds, but she is much better now. She still has a cough but she is better than she was. Her aura has repaired the internal bleeding she suffered from that terrible crash that the Knight of Death caused. And they were very close to being killed by him when he showed up in the forest.

Weiss has stopped spluttering thanks to the help that everyone managed to give her, and Blake is asleep, her hand holding Sun's as he sits beside her. Yang is asleep as well, the sun is up still but everyone has deserved a rest after what they just went through, against Death. Ruby smiles, nodding to her Uncle, her eyes barely open from exhaustion as she comfortably lays there.

"I'm okay." She assures him. Qrow smiles, patting her head, but Ruby's eyes are fixed on Raven as she stands there. She has heard of her before, but seeing her in person is something else entirely. And Ruby can tell she is Yang’s mother, the resemblance can be seen everywhere, only difference is the colour of their hair and eyes. "Are you..." She begins. Qrow looks at Raven after his niece asks her aunt the question that the youngest ones must have been asking for so long now.

"I'm Raven." She answers, looking at the little girl, walking over to her as well. She takes her sheathed Odachi and disconnects it from her belt, setting it down on one of the tables. Ruby looks at it in amazement, that sword that she saw in the photograph that Qrow showed her and Yang back at Beacon after his little...scuffle...with Winter. The scabbard contains multiple different blades all forged from the many elements of Dust, meaning she has a formidable weapon at her disposal. "I’m Yang's mom." Raven adds and Ruby looks at her in disbelief.

"Where have you been?" Ruby asks and Raven sighs, scratching the back of her head awkwardly, since that is a hell of a question to answer. She has never been very good at family stuff. Neither of them have, but Qrow's was due to his semblance rather than his personality.

Raven looks at Ruby.

"I have been with the tribe that raised your Uncle and I." Raven begins.

 

**Raven**

 

She stands with her people; they all wear a similar colour scheme, red and black kinds of colours as they traverse across Remnant. Some of her Bandit Highwaymen that fight alongside her, under her command, have similar coloured blades in their possession, along with all kinds of rifles slung round as well. They’ve got countless impressive tattoos and scars on their bodies from their lives struggling in the wilderness as Bandits.

She holds her Odachi in her hand tight as they march across the land, destroying everything in their path. A village burns behind them after they destroyed it, taking the resources from the villagers that lived there. Outside the houses, one of the Bandits takes his sword and he plunges it down into his ribcage, killing him slowly as he twists the blade. The poor civilian chokes on his own blood as it floods his lungs, dying eventually. The Bandit takes his lien and anything else he could find on his person, before ditching him.

"We were...lost..." Raven narrates with anguish in her tone of voice, remembering the past events as clearly as when it happened. "Believing that life is as simple as survival of the fittest. And we thought we couldn't be defeated." Raven explains

Raven turns when she hear the howl of Beowulves charging towards the Bandits after sensing the negative emotions of the village when they were being pillaged. Raven stands there, and the bandits back down, knowing that she was able to take them all down before they could even step forward. She reaches down and slowly draws her Odachi, choosing the electrical dust blade and she suddenly darts towards the pack.

She spirals through the air, hacking three of them into bite-sized remains, landing on both feet as she slides towards a Creep, thrusting the blade forwards into the Grimm’s stomach. She pins it to the building and the electrical energy cooks the beast to death, making it roar with agony. She pulls the blade out and immediately slashes the tusks clean from the Boarbatusk. The impact hit so hard that the electrical blade shatters against the bone, and there’s a powerful explosion of lightning that stuns the beast. Raven spins the hilt round and sheathes it, then draws her fire blade, slashing its head from its shoulder.

Smoke surrounds her as she stands around the dead she just took down. Her eyes swivel round when she hears the snarling hiss of a King Taijitu rising up behind her, and her Bandits prepare to help but she calms them down with merely the raise of her fingers. The Taijitu shrieks and it lunges towards her, but Raven presses her thumb onto a button in the sword, that channels energy into it and she slashes it behind her. She cuts a doorway open in space, and she hops into the portal, and another opens above the Taijitu. She drops down and stabs the sword downwards into its back, pinning it down. The other head comes back round but Raven punches it in the face, causing it to recoil back, and then she draws the blade from its slivering body.

As the White Head of the Taijitu lunges towards her, she swings upwards and drives the sword up the open jaws of the creature, the blade protrudes out the top of its snout, killing that head instantly. The white skull falls to the ground with a bang and she immediately kicks the Black Head in the eye to keep it from attacking. She spirals round and launches the sword directly through its head, and she transforms into Raven form, flying to the head so then she can catch it when she transforms back into human form. Her hand grapples onto the hilt, and she powers the head into the ground, slicing its head clean in half.

Black smoke billows around her as she stands there, the smoke of the dead Grimm mixing in with the smoke from the flames. She stands tall, slowly sheathing the blade back into her Scabbard on her hip, looking to her tribe again. They all stare at their leader with awe of how much of a legendary warrior she truly is.

"Why aren't you with them?" Ruby asks, holding back her disapproval of actions such as that, she is incredibly open minded. Raven exhales with a stammered breath remembering the answer to her question.

"Before the fall of Beacon...when you and your team stopped that attack at Vale?" She asks her.

“ _Almost_.” Qrow cheekily reminds with a smirk as he looks at Ruby, in which she just narrows her eyes and pouts at him.

“Well...it didn’t really matter in the end, did it?” Ruby sighs, and Qrow looks down sadly, wishing things could be different.

Ruby looks back to Raven and she listens to her every word, and as time rewinds, before the train erupted into Vale and poured Grimm into its streets...before Raven saved Yang. "Yang told you about the time I saved her?" Raven asks her.

"Yeah...you managed to scare Neo off." Ruby remembers.

"Well...there is a reason for how I knew to get there in time to save her." Raven explains to her.

Before she ever teleported there, Raven emerges in the Emerald Forest of all places. "I was out on important business in the Emerald Forest, one of our men went missing there." Raven clarifies. She walks through the Emerald Forest as she looks around, holding her Odachi tight, glaring through her mask.

"That's when I first saw him." Raven explains to Ruby. Stood before her is Fear, holding his Scythe in his hand. His golden eyes staring straight into her red ones, through the mask that she wears to conceal her face.

She gasps, drawing her Odachi and pointing it at him. She lunges right at him and he smirks, picking his Scythe up, smashing it right into her side with force, knocking her onto the ground. She immediately gets back up, thrashing her Odachi straight at him, and the impact slices him clean in two. She yells in anger as she does it, looking around. His body completely evaporates into dust.

She gets up slowly and she goes to leave until suddenly being kicked in the chest by Fear. The impact launches her into the trunk of the tree and she looks at him in disbelief, the hairs on her arms and back of neck stand on end. She even shakes as she leans against the tree. "The Knight of Fear...that was the moment I realised that the Knights were real." Raven narrates.

Fear slowly approaches her, some sort of green toxic gas begins to surround his arm. His Crossbow remains holstered on his leg where he can use it whenever his wants. His cape on his back transforms, a pair of massive decaying Bat Wings fold out and they stretch out before her as he blocks out the sun in his chilling form.

"Is that fear I see in those eyes?" Fear asks her with a smirk, leaning down to look into her eyes. Raven dithers, seeing the maggots crawling in his skin, faintly seeing the skull under the torn skin. He opens his mouth, a snake-like tongue with forked tips stretches out towards her and she recoils back, shuddering. His voice is very powerful, extremely intelligent sounding and wise, a lot like death with a gravelly tone to it as well, like someone has shredded his vocal chords.

As he smirks, the skin tears, showing the sharp teeth underneath his lips as he stares at her. He holds his palm towards her, his long clawed fingers stretching towards her. He grabs the underside of her helmet and he slowly removes it from her head, dropping it on the floor, revealing her face underneath as she stares at him. Fear smirks at her, he is a madman, that smile on his face can make even Tyrian seem normal.

She has been crippled with fear, not because she is weak but the very presence of him can make even the most fearless crumple into submission. "Everyone has a deep dark fear in them. No matter how strong you may be, they are always the smallest things that can make the toughest souls...tick!” Suddenly a blast of gas erupts from his palm and into Raven's face, into her eyes mostly. She cries out, feeling the burning sensation of the gas as it makes contact. She covers her eyes as she screams, like being pepper-sprayed.

But then, she enters a state of fear, she cannot move her body and she can see something. A hallucination, the gas he used on her is a hallucinogenic that is taking effect on her immediately. She looks around, and she finds herself in her fear landscape. She looks forward and she whimpers in horror when she sees her beloved daughter on the floor as a dark shadowy figure stands above her with a sword, holding it above her stomach.

Fear walks around her and he chuckles. "Ah...I see..." Fear realises as he looks at her fear, he travels with her into her fear landscape. He can see Yang on the floor as the person prepares to kill her. "You are a mother..." He speaks disturbingly. "And no matter how little you see your baby, you have that natural inclination to keep her safe...correct?" Fear asks her as he presumes around her, throwing his theories out to the hallucination that she sits in.

Raven gasps in horror when the figure drives the blade into her stomach and he hears her cry out in agony, her body jolting up and the life begins to leave her beautiful eyes. Raven cries out as she reaches for her. Lacking compassion, Fear just rolls his eyes as she sobs to see her child die like that. "Oh quit blubbing, it's not real. But this?" Fear states as he points his thumb over his shoulder.

The scenery transforms and Raven looks across the floor, seeing Yang on the ground, unconscious and Neo walks around her with her Umbrella Blade extended to make that nightmare become a reality. She immediately sees where she is and she grits her teeth in anger. "This is real...if you want to save her...you best be quick." Fear advises with a tilt of his head.

Raven without question grabs her helmet, putting it on and then she kicks her sword into her hands. She swings her sword a portal forms outside the hallucination, and she shakes it off to get back to the present. Fear smirks diabolically as he turns, walking away. His form erupts into a cloud of locusts as they all fly away in the wind, vanishing as quickly as she arrived.

“Everyone is afraid of something...” Fear whispers as his demonic voice echoes into the void of which he came from.

Neo stands above Yang to kill her. But before she can plunge the blade into her heart, Raven appears before Neo, defending her Daughter from her so then she can be okay. Neo vanishes, using her tricks to get away from Raven. There was a reason why she came there in time. "I heard the stories...but I never believed." Raven explains.

Raven looks down at Yang who is trying to recover from her wounds from her battle with Neo. She turns and walks away from Yang, forming a portal that she vanishes into before Yang can really get a good look of her. Raven emerges on the other side of the portal in a random location. She removes the helmet, tears still in her eyes from the fear that overcame her. She turns and sees other people that belong to her tribe. They look at her with consternation in their expressions, seeing her this upset.

"What is it?" One of the Tribesmen asks her. She pushes a tear from her eye, the fear he put in her brought her to tears and she looks right at the man.

"They're back..." Raven says with a shaky voice.

"Who?" He asks her.

"The Knights of Grimm...I saw Fear...and he used his semblance on me." Raven explains. "Inform the Chieftain...he needs to know what we're up against." Raven explains.

 

**Ruby**

 

"They didn't believe me at first." She continues to Ruby who has been listening the whole time. It all makes sense now, it is why she was wearing the mask when she saved Yang from Neo, so then neither of them could see the weakness in her crying eyes. All because of what the Knight of Fear showed her in that hallucination he plagued her with. "And I don't blame them...but after everything that has been happening? I think it proves my statement." Raven explains to Ruby.

Ruby sits there, taking this all in. It was Fear that sent Raven there, it was Fear that was the reason behind her turning up in the first place.

"Then why are you here instead of with them?" Ruby asks her.

"The Knights have been slaughtering them, along with the White Fang and all the villages outside the Kingdoms. I think there are still some of us out there, if there are, I have to find them." Raven explains.

Ruby sits up and she looks at Raven. “So you can’t stay?” Ruby asks her with saddened eyes, not for her own wishes, but more for what Yang wants.

“I cannot...my people must be out there. The Knights of Grimm may have killed our Chieftain but I need to bring them all back together. For once...I agree with my brother.” She says, looking at Qrow. “We need to work together.”

Qrow smiles. “Yeah – I guess maybe I got through to you after all.” Qrow chuckles as he sits there.

"Okay...but...at least talk to Yang." Ruby asks.

Raven looks at her, seeing so much of herself in her face. She looks at her metal arm and she looks away for a second, because she failed to save her from Adam during the Fall of Beacon. "I...I'd complicate things, she's better off without me." Raven excuses, looking away from her out of self-shame. Qrow looks at Raven.

"Sis...come on..." Qrow says. “I’m sure the Bandits can survive a few minutes for you to talk to your little girl.”

"You don't have to raise her from the ground up." Ruby says to her, which makes Raven look at the silver eyed little warrior. "But would it really hurt for Yang to know that she has a mom who loves her?" Ruby asks.

Raven looks at her and then at Yang who is still asleep. The others are elsewhere, making sure that the area is clear or are planning the team's next move. The Knights of Grimm have really changed things. Raven smiles slightly at her baby girl.

"I guess not." She says with a smile. She then looks back at Ruby with the same smile. "You remind me so much of your mother." She says. Ruby's eyes widen and she smiles.

"In what way?" Ruby asks as Raven walks towards Yang. Raven looks back at her.

"You're stubborn..." Raven begins. "And selfless." Raven explains with a smile on her face. Raven turns back to her daughter, not telling Ruby about the fact that she and Qrow saw Summer Rose in the forest and that she is the one that stopped Death back there, not them. Qrow sits there, his mind still fixed on Summer.

Raven walks up to Yang, crouching down beside her and caressing her cheek, moving some of her blonde hair from her closed eyes. Raven loves her child so much, even though she has rarely been there. She smiles when she looks upon the gorgeous girl she brought into this world. She then looks at her hand and she only sees how she failed to protect her. She gently holds her child's hand as she looks at her.

Yang's eyes slowly but surely open, looking at who holds her hand and then she gasps in disbelief when she sees the similarity in her face and her mother's. They are almost identical. Raven looks at Yang and a tear begins to form in her duct as she looks at her as they look at one another. "You're so beautiful." Raven gently says with a smile, showing a much warmer side to who she is.

"Bu...But..." Yang stammers. "Where have you been?" Yang asks her.

"I have been with the Tribe that raised your Uncle and I." She answers.

"Why did you never come see me?" Yang asks her, which is the first thing that she ever wanted to know from her. Raven lowers her head in self-hate, perhaps the revelation of the Knights of Grimm has changed something in her. Raven was once quite a ruthless person. But then she looks at Yang.

"I've always been there." Raven reveals. Yang looks at her mother with confused eyes. "Every night I sung you a song when you were little because you had nightmares. I always made sure that nobody would pick on you...but it seems Kassius was there for that." Raven explains, and Yang still remembers the many times that when she was too small to defend herself, Kassius was always there to power bomb their faces into the floor with his fist. "I was there for every sports day, every graduation ceremony. I was there when Team R.W.B.Y was formed..." She explains. "I was just in the shadows, I didn't want to risk complicating who you are." Raven explains to her.

Yang sits upright at Raven sits down beside her daughter, looking at her. So many emotions are coursing through Yang right now, confusion and anger at why she never made her presence known...but also a warming emotion, knowing that her mother does love her. "Then...if that's the case, then why did you tell Uncle Qrow that I shouldn't expect you to ever save me again?" Yang asks her.

Blake wakes up when she hears her talking and she gasps when she sees Raven sat there, the whole team has heard about Raven since they first met her, but Blake remembers that talk that she and Yang had in Oobleck's classroom before the Ball.

"It was Fear..." Raven says, and the mention of that Knight's name nearly snaps her neck from how fast she looks at her mother.

"Fear?" Yang asks. Raven just nods before continuing.

"He ambushed me and showed me a hallucination of you dying. It broke me for a while...but he also showed me a real life image of you about to be killed by some criminal with different coloured eyes." Raven explains. Yang immediately remembers what she is talking about, she hasn't forgotten about Neo since that train fight. "That was how I knew to get to you..." Raven explains. "I told Qrow that because I only managed to save you because Fear showed me it...we can't rely on the Knights of Grimm for everything. I won't always be able to save you." She explains.

"How did you find me here?" She asks her.

"I was looking for any surviving members of the Tribe, and I heard the explosions in the distance. I saw you destroying Cinder and her friends." Raven says with a laugh, like she is proud of her little girl at how she can kick butt just as well as she can. Yang smiles as well at that. "But then Death showed up and he was about to attack you...I will not let him take you from me." Raven explains as she looks at her child. Yang smiles. "I know my methods have been questionable and all...but I know what Family is." Raven explains, her eyes moving across the room to Qrow who just smiles at her. "And I will fight like hell to keep a hold of it." Raven assures as she holds her hand with a smile. A smile forms on her face and she leans over to her mom who holds her close.

"It's nice to finally see you." Yang says to her.

"Sorry I left it for so long." Raven replies.

"Well...you made up for it." Yang says with a smile. Raven looks over at Ruby who has stood back up and there is one thing that crosses her mind.

"Ruby?" Raven asks her, getting her attention.

"Yeah?" Ruby replies.

"Why were you so accepting of what I did? To the towns?" Raven asks. Ruby smiles.

"Because you changed, and you saved us." Ruby says with a smile, turning to her Uncle. Qrow looks at Ruby whilst Yang connects with her long-lost mother. Ruby knows that something happened down there just from the expressions on his face. But for Ruby, there is simply one thing that she needs to know to be able to feel ready. "Uncle Qrow?" She says.

"Yeah?" Qrow asks.

"Where's Lionheart?" Ruby sternly questions.

Watts was there, and she did not forget that he was there when speaking to Lionheart for the first time.

 

**Weiss**

 

Winter sits beside Weiss as she wakes up, sitting upright. Neptune has fallen asleep next to her as well, her hand near his as she was asleep. She looks at him with a smile and then she looks at Winter, seeing her looking over at her with a smile on her face. Weiss gasps when she sees her there. "Winter..." She speaks with awe to see her sister again.

"A boyfriend, huh?" Winter asks with her eyebrows raised and a smirk on her face as she looks at her.

"Oh, you heard about that, huh?" Weiss asks, sounding embarrassed as she starts to blush a little bit, sitting upright and crossing one leg over the other. She still has some pain in her stomach from the damage that she suffered from Death. Winter looks at one of her nails after she takes a glance at Neptune who is still asleep on the floor beside her. Winter looks out the window, seeing Scarlet and Kassius stood outside with their weapons at the ready in case any Mercenaries find out where they are hiding.

"Must admit, I didn't expect you to fall for a guy with blue hair." She says with a little giggle in her voice as she looks at her sister. Weiss nervously plays with her ashen hair, she has always been extremely awkward about crushes, mostly because Neptune is one of the first ones that she ever had.

"Yeah...well.." She apprehensively says as she holds her white hair, she then looks at Neptune on the floor. "I care about him a lot, he has always been by my side. Yeah he can be a bit of an idiot and a lady's man...but he'd never turn against me." She explains. She then turns to her sister who looks at her.

But then Winter laughs about something, which does honestly surprise her little sister. “Do you remember your first crush, Weiss?” Winter asks her curiously, forcing more blood into her cheeks, blushing more and more as she remembers her past crush. One that is nothing compared to Neptune, but she still did like him.

“Oh gods...you mean Markus?” Weiss presumes with nervousness in her voice, stammering as she says his name.

“Yeah...must say you definitely have a better taste in guys now compared to him.” Winter laughs.

“Come on now, just because he had freckles it doesn’t mean he wasn’t good looking.” Weiss states, showing she is a softie deep down, something that Winter clearly calls out.

“Wow you have become nicer, you’ve stopped trying to show off finally.” Winter chuckles, and Weiss does not even argue, she just sighs.

“You sound like Professor Port.” She sighs, thinking back to the lecture that the Professor gave her when she was acting out of order over the fact that Ruby got the position as the leader of Team R.W.B.Y opposed to her.

“What does that mean?” Winter inquires, unaware of this factor.

“Oh gods...back when we went through our Initiation Process in Beacon, I was being a little brat over the fact that Ruby was team leader instead of me. I still feel bad about how cruel I was to her...” Weiss sighs, closing her eyes sadly as she thinks of her upset face from whenever she was mean to her.

"I am so proud of you." Winter admits, filling Weiss' heart with warmth. "When you left for Beacon...I was so afraid that you would suffer, you were never good at making friends." She explains to her. Winter looks around the room at everyone, at the team that are recovering from Death's attack he laid upon them. "And when I look around...I see a family. A better one than what we were so unfortunate to have." Winter exhales as she thinks about their corrupt father.

And Whitley.

She then looks at her sister. "So he came after you?" Winter asks her. Weiss looks at her feet when she brings it up, still feeling bad about it, she is better than he is but she still lost the very thing that kept her going in her life. And he just handed it over to her brother.

"He took the Schnee Fortune from me." Weiss reveals, which makes Winter's eyes widen in shock.

"What?" Winter questions.

"I lashed out at a stupid Atlas woman..." Weiss sighs. "She said that Beacon deserved what happened...Pyrrha didn't...Penny didn't." Weiss snarls as she starts thinking back on her, and how much she wanted that Boarbatusk to attack her, good thing that Ironwood stopped that situation from getting any worse. "He took it from me and gave it all to Whitley...part of his plan." She explains with resentment in her voice towards their brother.

"That double crossing - " Winter growls as she wants to curse, but she holds it back to be the mature one in this situation. "Boob." She finishes as she releases her clenched fists. But then Weiss' eyes pop open widely when she remembers exactly what she has learned.

"Oh! I have learned how to Summon!" Weiss says.

Winter tilts her head with a surprised expression in her face and a smile that seems like she doesn't believe her.

"Oh?" Winter asks.

"Yeah..." Weiss says. She stands up and walks into the back garden, picking up Myrtenaster which is laying on the floor. Winter smiles, standing up and following her sister into the garden as they both stand there. Weiss stands in her stand, front foot forward and pointing the tip at the grass. The white glyph forms on the floor and she shuts her eyes. Winter watches as the glyph rotates more and more and more as it starts to generate the form of a Summoned Avatar.

Winter watches carefully, seeing how much she has already improved with her skills. And then, the powerful pulse detonates, forming the White Knight from the base of the glyph created. It wields the same sword that gave Weiss that scar in the first place. Winter smiles when she sees the Knight stood there, white mist trailing from the armoured plates that build its form, stood upon the ground, towering above Weiss and her. Weiss opens her eyes, looking at the Knight as it stands there and she looks at it. Winter looks at Weiss as she looks at her.

"Incredible." Winter says with a smile, making Weiss smile. "I always knew that you could do it."

Weiss wraps her arms around her sister and Winter holds her close as well. Winter has always been a mother to Weiss, more than Willow Schnee ever was unfortunately. She could not connect with Whitley because of their father who bonded with him faster than they ever could. "I missed you so much, Winter." She says into her shoulder and Winter gently holds her hand to the back of her head, caressing her white hair.

"And I you." Winter says as she holds her sister close. They break their embrace to look at each other. "We can do this, don't let Father try and trick you. Whatever he is doing now? It is not for our best interests." Winter explains. Weiss stands there and she sighs.

"Do you...know why he changed?" Weiss inquires inquisitively. Winter thinks back on the information that she acquired.

"Well...there was something happening here. From what your friends told me, he wants to control the Grimm, yes?" Winter asks her, leading to Weiss just giving a nod. "There was a person I was tailing, that's when I was attacked by those Mercenaries." Winter explains.

"Who were you following?" Weiss asks, expecting the word classified to come up, but it does not. She gives her a straight answer, so perhaps that given the circumstances, things like that are no longer a matter.

"A guy named Merlot." Winter says. Weiss's eyes bulge from their sockets when she mentions that name and she turns around with speed.

"Merlot?" She repeats with hysteria, her mouth agape.

"Yes...why are you so surprised?" Winter asks her.

"We met him before. I while back Professor Ozpin sent us on a mission to investigate rumours and we followed trail to an island where we found him..." Then her memory immediately clicks in when she realises what is going on and Winter has her full attention open to her now. "Merlot was trying to control Grimm..."

 

**Jacques**

 

He sits in his seat with his hands clasped together, his room dreadfully cold as he sits in there. Mist emerges from his frozen mouth as he sits in his chair, overlooking new information. He picks up his ballpoint pen, writing into his book on the latest pieces of information that he requires. He hears the sound of someone approaching and knocking on the door. He barely looks up to acknowledge it. "It's open." Jacques says to the person stood outside and the door opens up. Stood outside is the servant with a brown moustache and a tray with a glass of whiskey sat atop it.

"You asked for another bottle, sir?" Klein presumes. Jacques waves him over and he walks inside of his study, feeling the ice cold nature of it as he walks in. He picks up the expensive glass bottle and places it down on the table for him. "Will that be all, sir?" Klein asks.

"Yes, Klein, that will be all." Jacques says, still not even looking at him as he writes these things down. Klein turns to leave and he smiles slightly, knowing that he freed the good soul of Weiss out into the world and free from her terrible father. But when he turns to leave, Ironwood steps round the corner and sees him there. Ironwood steps aside, politely letting the smaller man pass by and then he enters his study afterwards.

"Jacques." Ironwood greets. James puts the pen in the pot and he clasps his hands back together.

"James." Jacques returns as he looks across the room at him as he walks toward him. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" Jacques asks him as he picks up two glasses and fills them up with the beverage. He picks his one up, putting some ice cubes into it. Ironwood does not pick his one up and Jacques shrugs his shoulders, taking a sip of his drink.

"Jacques, we need to talk. Your daughter managed to leave, and whilst I am not against her departure, I want to know how she managed to leave." Ironwood says to him. Jacques puts his glass down on his table and he looks at the Cyborg.

"What makes you think that I know how she left?" Jacques questions.

"You imprisoned the poor girl in her room, it is little surprise that she abandoned you." Ironwood states, still showing respect for Team R.W.B.Y and Jacques narrows his eyes in anger when he says that.

"She was a disappointment." Jacques states with a growl, picking both glasses up and filling it back up, drinking more from the glass as he looks at the wall.

"She is a Huntress, I applaud her." He says. Jacques rolls his eyes and he scoffs, turning to the General.

"I don't know how she left, Ironwood. Maybe you need to check your defences more effectively next time. Now is there something else you need?" Jacques asks him as he takes his seat. Ironwood glares at Jacques when he sits down, and he clearly does not trust the man anymore, whether or not he trusted Jacques to begin with is out of the question. The man has always been about money and business before anything else, including family.

"No...I don't." Ironwood says, straightening his tie as he turns to leave, but before he closes the door, he looks at Jacques. "Jacques, just so you know. Your daughter is a hero, I will not go after her, but anyone that hides information about Atlas Security from me, will be made a target. Anyone." Ironwood warns as he stares at Jacques, and he simply says nothing.

"That will be all, James." Jacques coldly says, which leads to Ironwood closing the door and leaving him behind. Jacques places the glass back on the coaster and he presses a button underneath his table and the door locks and a field forms inside the room, blocking out anything that could be someone listening in on whatever he is doing inside. He stands up and the lights begin to turn off and he enters the middle of the room. One of the walls opens and it folds out a camera that points straight at him. The carpet shifts across the floor, revealing a pad on the floor. The machine activates and the pad glows bright blue, creating a holographic image of somebody who stands there. He has a glowing red eye and a metal arm with red inner circuitry inside of it. He has a white moustache and white hair from his age and he looks at Jacques.

"Ah...hello old chum." Merlot greets.

"Evening, Doctor." Jacques greets as he holds his glass in his hand. "How is Project Scarab going?" He asks him.

"I must say, it is much more entertaining to have a bigger budget than I did back in Vale. I could only work with what I had...now? The sky's the limit!" He says with amazement, throwing his hands in the air with joy at the freedom that he has. "Especially after that catastrophe that I suffered due to those damn children." He snarls in anger.

"What have you accomplished so far?" Jacques asks him.

"So far? Well from the serum I used on the past Grimm, it is easily taking control of the Beowulves. Other creatures bigger than that will be a challenge, I require more testing, more data, to fully commit to something as grand as that." Merlot explains to him.

"I will provide as many funds as you require." Jacques assures.

"Oh no, it's not just about funds. It is about volunteers. I believe that we can have our own army of soldiers under the control of this serum. With an army all connected to what we want them to do? Morals will no longer matter." He explains. A man with a moral judgement would normally say no to this, but Jacques is cold as ice.

"There are refugee facilities around Remnant, and there are plenty of soldiers in both Atlas and the Acolytes of Lien who can lend a hand." He assures.

"Good, that way we can make sure that the serum can control even the most developed of minds. If I can manage to manipulate it to work as well as possible, then we can control every form of Grimm." He explains.

"And the Knights of Grimm?" He asks.

"Of course, it would require testing. but anything is possible." Merlot explains.

"Good, I knew that I made the right choice when investing in you." Jacques says with a smile on his face.

"I look forward to more experiments." Merlot says. Merlot backs up. "Merlot, out." He says, the hologram of him comes apart as the call ends and the lights slowly come back on as the machines shut down around him and the field shuts offline. Jacques smirks menacingly as he returns to his table, pressing the same button that returns his room to normal. Like nothing happened.

Doctor Merlot is back...


	18. Fallen Idols

**Salem**

The Dark Queen lifts up her hand, her red eyes glowing faintly as she stares at the markings across her arm, red electricity crackling across the veins in her forearm. The pale skin, cold as ever, just as the ice in the poles of Atlas. Her long white hair splayed out into the spider like style that she has become known for with black diamonds dangling down from each leg of hair that is held outwards.

Her presence seems to have such a dark and negative aura around her, staring out at the landscape as she waits for Mercury and Emerald to get prepared for their visit to Beacon Academy. The Seer floats beside her, faintly snarling as it floats there, and she turns when she hears it beginning to link to another in Mistral. The red energy within the creature swirls round and reveals the face of Professor Leonardo Lionheart as he looks at her with a scared expression on his face. “Hello, Leonardo. Is everything prepared as we agreed?” Salem asks him curiously.

The door opens behind Salem where Mercury and Emerald both enter the room to see her stood there. They are all armed a ready for combat scenario if they must; Emerald holds her scythe revolvers in her grasp, locked and loaded. Mercury’s boots are both loaded up with dust rounds as well, they may be going with Salem to Beacon, but they do not know what to expect when they get there.

Lionheart’s face through the round dome of the Seer looks ashamed and saddened as he lowers his head, closing his eyes with a sigh. “Yes, ma’am...” He sighs as he looks away from her, and Salem smiles softly at him.

“Speak, Lionheart. Confess to me your concerns.” Salem requests, and he looks at her, and he does as she requests.

“Everything I have helped build here...and I am the one that is letting it be destroyed around me.” He sighs. “My students...I have already sacrificed so many to die when the Grimm came for us when Beacon fell.” He says to her, and the smaller minions of Salem’s look truly surprised by this revelation. Of all the people to bring about the fall of Mistral they never expected it to come from him.

“I understand, Leo...and I am truly sorry for what you have had to sacrifice. But I can promise you it is for the greater good – not many people can turn against the lies of Ozpin the way you have. You should be proud of yourself.” Salem states, half like she is lying yet there is a hint of honesty and truth in her words. The question is – obviously – which are the lies and which are not?

Leo sighs as he looks at her. “That’s easy for someone to claim – when they are not the one watching their home fall...and they are the reason for it.” Leonardo states, sounding quite cold about it as well.

The feed of his face fades away from her view and Salem has a rather stern look in her eyes, and she turns round to look at Emerald and Mercury. “Ah, I see you are finally ready. Come; let us begin our business at Beacon.” Salem says, but Emerald stops her.

“Ma’am?” She asks, and Salem stops, turning with a curious pair of eyes. It will never stop surprising Mercury how curious the Dark Queen really is. She could be ice cold and not accept any opinions from her underlings, yet there she is, listening to whatever it is that is on her mind.

“Yes, Emerald?” Salem asks her, and she stands behind her with caution as she speaks.

“I don’t know if the plan will work, Ma’am.” She says, and Mercury stares at Emerald with scared eyes. But he clearly has not caught onto the fact that she can speak her mind to Salem and the Dark Queen will not object against her.

“How so, my dear?” Salem curiously inquires, tilting her head at her.

“Ruby Rose and her friends...they have beaten the impossible before. Sure they didn’t stop Beacon falling but they will be on alert this time. It’s entirely possible that they already suspect Lionheart.” Emerald explains to her, stammering as she speaks, but she would know better than any of them.

“Do not dwell on the past Emerald – the method of Mistral’s fall will be very different to how we took down Beacon.” Salem explains, which makes Mercury braver to ask as well.

“What do you mean? What will be different this time?” Mercury asks, and Salem smirks.

“Well – for starters we have the Knights of Grimm, and Watts has already orchestrated a plan to start a substantial riot in the city with the help of Fury. Merely his presence will instil rage in the citizens of Mistral to start a riot.” Salem explains, and Emerald quickly catches on.

“And the negativity and panic will draw in the Grimm.” Emerald says with widened eyes.

“Precisely.” Salem agrees.

“But Mistral’s defences? The walls that surround the city?” Mercury asks.

“That is where Lionheart will come into play – the Knights of Grimm will arrive in Mistral and massacre the Huntsmen and Huntresses in Haven Academy, hoping the riot will draw our foes from the school. Lionheart has had the Acolytes of Lien place explosives inside the walls and the defence towers around the city, and if he follows his orders – he will detonate them. And thus the Grimm will flood the streets and kill everything inside.” Salem explains, and they would be lying if they claimed that they did not find this plan to be cruel and barbaric.

“It’s...horrible...” Emerald sighs, and Mercury looks afraid for her safety now. Asking questions is one thing but saying something like that, would appear that she is against Salem now.

Salem approaches her with a smile, placing her hand on her shoulder as she looks down at the smaller woman. “A necessary sacrifice, my dear.” Salem assures, then a black and red portal suddenly opens behind Salem and the three of them turn to it. Salem smirks as she walks ahead of them. “Come...let us complete our task.” She says, as she steps through the portal.

Mercury looks at Emerald and she looks at him, and they are both afraid.

Mercury walks ahead.

Emerald sighs, closing her eyes as she follows him into the portal to Beacon.

 

**Ruby**

 

The doors to the Professor's office burst open, and a furious Ruby Rose approaches him as he sits in his seat. Walking with her are Nora, Kassius, Qrow and Scarlet David. They walk toward him and he looks at them with a curious look. "Ah, Miss Rose, how can I help you?" Lionheart asks her as he holds his hands out openly to them as they get closer. Kassius clenches his cybernetic hand into a fist, since they have all been informed about their first meeting with Arthur Watts.

"You can start by answering some questions." Kassius answers, he reaches to his collar and he lifts him from his chair and into the air with his cybernetic arm, staring straight at him with furious eyes. Lionheart panics, yelping as he lifts him off the floor. Scarlet crosses his arms as he watches the Professor squirm in the metal hand of Kassius. He chuckles as he looks at him.

"Looks a little frightening." Scarlet points out.

"You dare?" Lionheart threatens, but Kassius just rolls his eyes.

"You're lucky I haven't thrown you out the window yet after your little dealings with the enemy." Kassius snarls. Lionheart looks at Kassius, a puzzled grimace on his face as he looks at Kassius.

"Dealings?" He questions.

Nora groans, rolling her eyes with disgust. "Can we just break his legs?" Nora asks Ruby.

"No, we need him to be able to walk." Ruby says, and Kassius hears her, releasing the Professor and he nearly falls over when he lands. The Professor staggers back and he immediately straightens his tie as he looks at them. Lionheart clears his throat respectfully. His Shield with different forms of dust chambers connected to it, sits on the table by his computer and he walks past it, looking at the four people before him. Ruby looks him right in the eyes with scolding intensity. Qrow crosses his arms when he glares at Lionheart. Perhaps his presence and semblance caused him to scare Kassius like that, giving him some bad luck. He looks at his table and his mug of coffee has spilt all over the table, ruining the mahogany desk with stains. He sighs, looking at Ruby.

"An old friend gave me that, you know?" He says.

"Yeah, I know. Ozpin did." She says with crossed arms. His point being destroyed, he cowers away from her, like the Cowardly Lion he really is. He then looks at the Silver Eyed Rose that stands before him.

"Then what questions do you wish to ask?" Lionheart asks her.

"Who was that man you were speaking to? When we first met you? He had a black moustache and he left the room as soon as he arrived. He gave me a look when he left." Ruby explains.

"Yeah, I saw it too." Nora agrees with her head nodding up and down erratically. Lionheart immediately knows that they are speaking of Arthur Watts. He looks down at the floor, exhaling through his mouth as he starts to begin his explanation.

"His name is Arthur Watts." Lionheart begins. "He and I are...old friends." He continues. Qrow's eyes squint in anger and his teeth grit together. "He came to me a few days ago, the morning you arrived he came here, speaking to me about some deals that can be made. Spies that can be let into Mistral...Mercenaries..." He continues.

The Acolytes of Lien...he allowed them to enter and take control.

"So that stern thing you said? That was all a load of crap?" Nora questions with a scoff.

"He was saving his own skin." Qrow says as he stares at him. He shakes his head at the young Professor in disgust. "Oz would be ashamed of you, Leo." Qrow snarls as he stares straight into his blue eyes. He scratches his blonde hair. But then Lionheart has a change of heart as he stares at them. He puts his hands behind his back when he looks at them all.

"How about we discuss this elsewhere?" Lionheart proposes as he approaches the window in his building, looking out at the landscape of Mistral. In the far reaches of the city is a small facility, hidden in the forest that can be found across the highway junctions that cross through the forests to get there. Ruby looks at him with curious eyes.

"What are you talking about?" She asks him.

"There is a place not far from here. It holds many secrets, but since you know a lot already, maybe it is time for you to understand more." He explains. Ruby looks at Qrow and he looks at Lionheart. His trust in him has been shaken after his association with Watts...but he knows this place and he knows that there is a bunker not far.

"I know the place. Only he can get us inside." Qrow explains as he looks at the Professor. Lionheart stands there, showing little emotion as he stands by his desk. Ruby, hungry for more knowledge and understanding of the world that they have become a part of, she nods at him and Lionheart claps his hands together.

"Perfect. Come." He says, walking past his desk.

None of them notice Lionheart press a button on his computer as he passes it, doing something that they cannot conceive. He walks past them and he continues down the path, moving on. Ruby looks at the windowsill and she feels a tear leak from her eye for some reason.

There is a small and beautiful white Mourning Dove stood upon the windowsill, perking its head to the side with a little tweeting sound as it looks at her. Ruby ignores the Dove, turning and walking on. As she leaves, she has no idea that the Dove has morphed into the form of Loss. She stands in the room, watching them leave as the door closes. Ruby takes one last look before the doors close.

And Loss is gone, as is the feeling of it.

 

**Yang**

The Blonde Xiao Long stands by the balcony with her mother by her side as well. They both look out at the landscape of Mistral, beautiful rolling green hills that look like the waves of an ocean. Embers of leaves floating across the forest floor as the wind carries them. Yang presses her hands against the wooden plank that makes the windowsill. Her lilac eyes look at the land and her mother stands beside her, taller than she is but not by much.

Her red eyes turn to her child and she looks at her metal arm, grief coming upon her. "I'm sorry I couldn't help you at Beacon...maybe you could have a normal arm...instead of losing one." Raven apologises to her daughter. Yang holds up her metal hand, moving each finger at a time, the yellow and black plates moving intricately as she looks at it. She then clenches his hand into a fist, and she remembers what she did last time when she used her Semblance to beat Cinder and her crew.

The metal plates shift and fold open, connecting together as her old Ember Celica is built around her wrist. They managed to build it into her arm so then she never loses it, unless she loses that arm again. It is exactly the same and she smiles as she looks at it. "I should be thanking Adam...this arm is awesome." Yang says with a laugh. Raven smiles at her daughter who looks at her arm.

"It...Doesn’t hurt anymore?" She asks her. Yang looks at her mother and she gently smiles.

"No...It never hurt actually." She reveals. Since Adam cut through her whole arm, her nerves were also extremely damaged, which means that the pain would not have been felt from the damage. "Well...I did also pass out...so I don't really know if it hurt." Yang adds. Yang is not entirely certain if that made Raven feel better or not, but she knows that Yang does not blame her for what happened to her at Beacon.

There was nothing that could have been done to save her arm, it was a fixed point, and it was always going to happen. Even if it was not Adam, some things must happen for time to continue. Yang smiles to her mother and Raven looks at the world, others can see beauty, but Raven sees the world that will be destroyed by the Knights of Grimm if they are not stopped. And that cannot be done without help.

Raven turns to her daughter. "I must go, Yang." Raven says and the look in Yang's eyes hurts her because she clearly wants her to stay.

"Already?" Yang asks.

"I have to. I need to find as many of my people as I can. Together we will return and help you stop Salem." Raven promises.

"You promise?" Yang asks her.

Raven smiles, placing her hand on her daughter's shoulder. "I might have been there throughout your life, but I was never there for you. I aim to change that once and for all. And I keep my promises, that's why I don't tend to make many of them." Raven explains. Yang smiles and she hugs her mother affectionately. Raven hugs her child back, her head gently pressing into her blonde hair as she smiles, finally feeling like a mother for once in her life. "Maybe if I see Tai again..." Raven suggests. "Well...perhaps when this is all over." Raven concludes with a smile. Yang smiles back.

"I think he would be proud to see how much you have changed." Yang states. Raven smiles and she walks past Yang, holding her Odachi in her hand. She swings the red blade, forming one of her portals. She walks towards it and Yang watches as she approaches it. Raven stops and looks back at her daughter with a kind smile on her face. Yang smiles back and Raven walks into the red portal, vanishing behind it as it closes behind her. Yang stands there, looking down at the floor with an exhale.

She has finally been able to meet her mother and understand why so much of her life was missing because she never met her. Now she understands the truth. And the fact that the Knights of Grimm have been returning for many years, and only now have made their presence truly known to the world. Her lilac eyes turn when she sees Blake stood there with her arms crossed, leant against the wall as she looks at her. She has a bandage around her head where she suffered her injury. She is back on her feet which is progress from earlier, she suffered one hell of a concussion from Death.

"So that's Raven?" Blake asks her quietly, her head must still hurt from her concussion, though. Yang smiles, nodding at the cat Faunus Partner of hers.

"Yeah...I've finally met her...she's nothing like I expected." Yang answers with a smile, but she stops when she sees Blake looking at the floor with mournful eyes. Yang immediately clocks onto her sorrow, she has just gotten her mother back, whilst Blake has lost hers and her father. Not that long ago either. Yang looks at her compassionately and she walks over to Blake, wrapping her arms around her, which makes Blake's eyes shoot open from shock for a second and Yang rests her head against hers. "I'm so sorry, Blake." Yang apologises. "I didn't think." Blake stands there, trapped in her arms, but she holds her in return.

"Don't be sorry..." Blake says to her.

"No...I should be." Yang says, breaking the hug and stepping back from her best friend. "You just lost your parents, and there I am connecting with mine, when you can never see them again." Yang says sombrely for her. Blake smiles gently. Sun leans against the wall behind where they are talking, listening in as he always does, keeping an eye on Blake because of how much he loves her. He holds Ruyi Jingu Bang in his hands, and he looks down at the floor, emotions entering his mind. Because Blake is not the only person who lost their parents in the room. He lost his parents too. Blake reaches out to Yang, holding her by her shoulders to keep her still.

"I managed to tell them how much they meant to me." Blake realises. Yang looks at her. "At least I was there and I got to let them know how much I loved them before Fury killed them." Blake explains to her. Sun did not have that time, Hazel arrived with White Fang and they took that from him. Yang smiles at Blake, seeing progress in her, the old Blake returning who wasn't so cold and quiet. Sun walks away from the wall as they speak. But he stops.

"What about Sun? Have you told him about how you feel?" Yang asks. He stops, his eyes widening as he returns to the wall to listen to her answer. The most important answer. Blake stammers, nervously trying to think of an answer as she thinks. She loves him with all her heart and then she looks at Yang.

"Not yet." Blake says. "But...I do...I love him." Blake says. Sun smiles as he turns and leaves them both to talk. But now his heart is filled with joy, knowing that all that hard work has finally paid off in the end. Yang smiles as she pats her shoulder.

"I understand why you haven't told him, yet. I am in a similar position." Yang sighs, hopping onto one of the railings. She crosses one leg over the other and Blake jumps onto it beside her, kicking her legs back and forth.

"Kassius?" Blake presumes.

"Yep." Yang laments as she looks down at the floor.

"Why haven't you?" Blake asks.

Yang pauses for a couple of seconds, because she knows the answer. "Things are quite complicated between us. With him losing his team, what happened to Vetra. That girl who sold them out." Yang explains to her as she sits next to her. Blake looks at her for answers.

"What girl?" Blake asks.

"A girl called Ilia sold his team out to the Onyx Phantom." Yang explains. Blake's eyes widen in disbelief when she says that.

"Ilia Amitola?" Blake asks when she looks at her with her amber eyes wide. Yang turns to her.

"You know her?" Yang questions.

"Yeah...when I was part of the White Fang...before it all went wrong..." She establishes as she remembers her old friend. "She was my best friend back in the Fang, we would both be on the front lines together to spread our message. But when things started to go wrong in the White Fang, she wouldn't see things the same way as I did. I saw through Adam and Sienna's lies...but she accepted them because she was loyal to the cause to the very end." Blake elucidates. She then turns to her friend. "Sun and I bumped into her at Menagerie. She is the one that hurt his arm when we were chasing her. She is not to be messed with." She explains.

Yang sits forward as she takes this all in. "Did you catch her?" Yang enjoins. Blake shakes her head.

"No..." Blake groans. "She managed to get away because she hurt Sun. But...she didn't ever hurt me. She just left...like she couldn't." Blake explains. Yang smiles a little when she looks at Blake. “And she tried to warn us about Fury...but it was too late, by the time she told us...the Grimm were already there in force.”

"I guess she still sees you as a friend." Yang points out as she makes her judgement from her story.

"Maybe...but if she did sell his team out...that's unforgivable." Blake states. Yang seems to be the one on Ilia's side right now.

"Well...we don't know her side of the story." Yang says.

"Yeah..." Blake sighs.

Team Bumblebee remain on the railing as they sit there, thinking about everything that they have been through and talking about. "He wants to kill her." Yang adds, remembering the talk that she had with him not that long ago. Blake looks at Yang with concerned eyes and Yang looks at her with the same look. Blake starts to look back on her past with her old friend, she wants her punished, not dead.

"Do you?" Blake asks her. Yang shakes her head.

"Not for me...but for his sake. Killing people out of vengeance like that will just make us the bad guys...but Kassius is a man who believes in vengeance above many things." Yang sighs as she presses her head onto her hand as she things. Blake puts her hands together, threading her fingers between each other.

"You should talk to him. Talk him out of it, or just have him talk to her to understand. If it is as bad as he thinks, then yes maybe he is right to kill her. But...he has a right to know and she has a right to explain." Blake suggests to her. Yang looks at her and she smiles.

"Thanks, Blake." Yang says with a smile. They sit beside each other, but then Blake realises something that makes her giggle at the fact of it. Her laughter catches the attention of the glowing blonde beside her and her laugh makes her smile. "What?" Yang asks her with an incredulous look on her face.

"I just realised...you are talking to me about boyfriends." Blake points out. "I feel like with my previous boyfriend before Sun was quite...bad." Blake asserts with a big smile on her face. That point also makes Yang start laughing as well, her shoulders bouncing as she laughs.

"That is a very good point." Yang laughs.

"Ironic much?" Blake quizzes. Yang looks upwards as she thinks.

"Nope." Yang says with a beaming grin. "Like you said, Adam wasn't always bad. So I guess you were just unlucky with how he turned out. So not entirely ironic." Yang says.

"I guess so." Blake agrees. Yang gently and jokingly punches Blake's arm.

"Come on, I'm thirsty. Let's see what they have stockpiled. They did say help yourself." Yang says as she hops off after spinning back round the railing to walk down the stairs. Blake smiles, following her.

And neither of them ever brought up the problems they had.

Their friendship is repairing, which is a victory in itself.

A small one...but still a victory.

 

**Oscar**

The young Farmhand yells as he swings the cane against the mannequins before him, striking across the side of its head with all her might, an impact that would make an enemy stagger or maybe even knock it out. He groans, exhaling with fatigue, using the cane to remain upright where he stands. He hears a gentle knock on the door and he spins round with widened eyes, seeing Weiss stood behind him with a sweet smile on her face. “Hello...I don’t think you and I have actually had time to speak yet.” Weiss gently introduces as she walks over to him in the room he is training in.

“Oh! Uh, hi...you’re Weiss, right?” He shyly asks her with a little smile on his face. She may be the wealthiest person he has ever met in his entire life.

Good thing he never met the old Weiss, otherwise he would have been so scared of her.

“I see you’ve been training...have you never fought before?” Weiss asks him curiously as she crosses her arms.

“Only the occasional small Grimm...but I feel I have really been thrown in the deep end.” Oscar comments with a nervous smile, and Weiss giggles.

“Yeah...I can see why you feel that way. So how are you doing?” She curiously asks him.

“I don’t know how you guys do it so well...I try and fight but I just get so tired every single time. I’m scared that I will not be able to help when it comes down to fighting something dangerous.” Oscar explains, setting Ozpin’s Cane down onto the ground at his side with a heavy sigh, pressing his hands to his knees.

“I know how you feel, Oscar. When I first started training I struggled too, it took me a whole year before I could master my semblance. Let alone be able to fight extensively...it’s still a weakness of mine.” Weiss explains, grabbing her wrist with her other hand sadly.

“You?” Oscar questions.

“Yeah – my stamina is not as good as the others. I use up a lot of my strength and energy when using my Glyphs. Let alone when summoning something.” Weiss explains to him, naming a little weakness in her fighting style. And she is right, her semblance really does wear her out very quickly because it uses her aura up faster than others.

“Summoning?” Oscar asks her.

“My sister has been teaching me, I am able to summon a Glyph Version of any Grimm that I personally kill and remember.” Weiss explains, and Oscar has the expression of utter awe of the idea of how powerful that Semblance could possibly be.

“So...if you fought and killed a Manticore – could you summon one?” Oscar presumes and Weiss nods her head.

“Yes – although I doubt I could summon something that big yet and stay conscious.” Weiss giggles sweetly as she thinks on that idea.

Manticores are massive Creatures of Grimm and luckily extremely rare, ones that tend to live in Mountains. They are not as gigantic as the huge Grimm Dragon that attacked Beacon, but not far off either. They dwarf Grimm Wyverns and are lethal creatures, with the head and body of a Lion, wings of a dragon and the tail of a Deathstalker. The things can reach massive sizes but mostly are encountered as smaller forms.

But Sovereign Class Manticores are the rarest ones to ever come across.

Weiss looks at Oscar as he sits down next to the Cane, and she sits down next to him with her leg bent up so she can rest her arm on her knee. She looks like she is getting more comfortable in wearing clothes that are more casual than her Atlesian Dresses. And her long wavy hair looks at beautiful as ever. Oscar would be lying if he claimed that he was not intimidated by all the extremely attractive girls that surround him here. Weiss looks at him and another question enters her mind. “What do you think your semblance will be?” Weiss asks him curiously and he looks at her with confusion.

“Um...I dunno...” Oscar shyly says as he looks at the floor.

“Well our Semblances are related to our personalities. Ruby is hyperactive so she has super speed, Ren is calm and collected so he can hide emotions from the Grimm. I guess we’ll get to learn what your Semblance is together.” Weiss gently says to him with a smile.

She pats his shoulder as she stands up and she walks towards the door.

But...

She just could not resist the opportunity.

She peeks back round with a grin. “Your form is off by the way.”

She zips round the corner again, leaving Oscar utterly bewildered.

“Huh?”

 

**Ruby**

 

The cars drive up the highway to the facility in question. It is very large and bares the Mistraalian Symbol on the outside. Trees attempt to conceal the building but they can get there. The gates open as they approach it. It is an old location, without a doubt. The concrete walls have been weathered over the years by the winds and storms of the Climate of Remnant. Ruby admires the nature through the window of the car. Qrow drives the car as they enter, Lionheart sat beside him. Nora is squished between Scarlet and Kassius in the back whilst Ruby is sat in the boot of the car. "Couldn't we have picked a bigger car?" Nora asks. Qrow sighs with annoyance.

"For the fifth time, no, this was the only one we were allowed to borrow." Qrow explains with his eye twitching. Nora sighs, her shoulders pushed in. Scarlet looks at her and he smirks. Nora rolls her eyes. “Now stop moaning or I’ll turn this car around!”

Qrow has never experienced what it is like to be a father.

Until that moment.

Taiyang would be laughing his ass off if he saw that.

"Look, Scarlet, I kissed you once and it ain't happening again." Nora says, referring to a past moment in time that was extremely confusing for the two of them, one that Sun was involved in as well. A very...bizarre moment. Scarlet just leans into his seat, still smirking. "I remember you kissing Sun, Scarlet." She reminds. His eyes widen and he gags when she mentions that.

"Why'd you have to remind me?" He whimpers. Nora laughs deviously as she claims her victory.

"Is this what it's always like?" Kassius asks Ruby as she looks around curiously.

"Pretty much." Ruby answers.

"By the gods." Kassius says with a chuckle in his voice. The car decelerates and comes to a stop outside of the facility. The doors open and they all emerge from the car. Nora stretches her arms and legs out as she steps out.

"That's better!" She says with vigour.

"Good, enough moaning?" Qrow asks.

"Yep." Nora assures, following him and Lionheart into the facility. Lionheart presses his palm against a device on the wall, and the doors open when he presses his hand against it, recognising his biometric scan. They continue inside and they look around.

"Many secrets are held here." Lionheart starts. "Secrets that date back to a time before the Great War." He explains. They all walk into the place, halls upon halls of old files of facts that are stored in here. Cobwebs dangling everywhere alongside dust dunes against the walls as they continue on. He pushes the doors open and there is a table inside. On the table is a large book, one that is simply titled as: The Relics. Ruby's eyes widen and Qrow looks down at the book, surprised by this. Lionheart opens the book but Kassius stops him with his metal hand.

"You wait outside, I do not trust you with this yet." Kassius says.

"What is there to mistrust?" Lionheart scoffs.

"You were dealing with a guy who serves Salem." Kassius points out. "I think that's the probable cause."

Lionheart scoffs, rolling his eyes as he stands up and walks out of the room. Qrow nods and he stands outside with him, keeping an eye on him. They cannot trust him right now. They all sit down at the table and Ruby opens the book, beginning to read it. There is so much information in here, from theories of how they were formed and where they were first discovered.

They were discovered in a location that is uncharted by both Humans and Faunus. A continent above Vacuo, Vale and Mistral. The continent is dark, shaped like a Dragon on the map. Haunting, truly haunting. There must be a reason why no one ever goes there, and Ruby already seems to be on the case.

Salem could be hiding there somewhere. But then when they read, they find a very important extract.

The four relics purposes are honestly unknown. Some believe that it is linked to the four gifts of mankind: Creation, Destruction, Knowledge and Choice, and that these are their physical forms. So we thought it best to name it off of them. The Relics are incredibly powerful and cannot be held in the hand of a person for whatever reason, unless if it accepts them.

Many of our scientists have been reduced to dust from the reaction, but one of our people managed to hold it. A Huntress, she also had silver eyes. Some of us thought that it was linked to that, but another huntsman and someone with silver eyes were killed...maybe combined?

But we have no idea. The Relics have been requested to be contained and sent off to Four Academies for safety. We sent Knowledge to Beacon, Creation to Mistral, Choice to Vacuo and Destruction to Atlas. Hopefully the Headmasters at each one can keep them safe. For in the wrong hands, they could destroy Remnant. Each Headmaster has access to each one, held close to their hearts.

The younger ones step back from the book, contemplating that extract that they have just read. "Well I guess it makes sense why each Academy is different." Kassius points out with a chuckle, scratching his chin.

"But why does Watts even bother with dealing with him? Why not just steal it?" Nora questions. Ruby's eyes widen when she realises what Arthur is up to. She sits back, her eyes widened.

"Because he's the one that they still need." Ruby realises.

 

**Watts**

 

Crowds of people wander around Mistral, tending to their daily lives to get by. He emerges from the crowd, stepping up a set of stairs and he jumps onto a rooftop, looking down at them all. He smirks as he looks to them all. He rubs his fingers against his black moustache as he stands there, looking down at them all. He turns and he sees Fury stood beside him, only he can see him, whilst he is invisible to everyone else.

Fury smirks monstrously at him as their plan is coming to fruition. He holds his hands out, and the people all stop, looking at him curiously. "People of Mistral..." He begins as he looks down at them all with a mad smile on his face. He looks to the Academy on the mountains and he points straight at it. "Behind me is the source of _peace_ you have been admiring for so long." He says to them all. "Or so you may believe. You have all placed your lives under the jurisdiction of a corrupt man who will always look out for himself." He begins.

Fury stands there, a spiritual cloud of fire slowly spreading across the ground like a fog, spreading across the people. It does not burn them, but it has some kind of an affect. "But is he really the man that you think he is?" He asks them all. He reaches into his jacket and he pulls out a photograph of Professor Lionheart, showing it to the people of Mistral. "You have been looking up to the Cowardly Lion for all these years, placing your faith upon him. His ideas has spread corruption through this once beautiful city!" He shouts defiantly, tearing the photograph up before them all, completely shattering the image he once had. He takes out his scroll, holding it out to the people. "Listen to the voice of the man that has betrayed you all." Watts demands.

He presses his thumb against the play button. The audio begins, connected to a bunch of hidden speakers in the market, placed down by incognito Acolytes of Lien that are amongst the crowd. Fury's fire does not touch Watts or the soldiers, only the civilians as he stands beside Watts.

Lionheart's voice emerges from the recorder. "You want to know what I think? This place is going to fall, Ozpin is a fool, and all the Headmasters are crumbling down from the pressure that our enemy is throwing upon us." Lionheart explains, the civilians all listen in horror as their idol destroys himself before them all. "I will help Salem, if I will have a seat on that table for the new world that the Relics will help create." Lionheart states to Watts who has not said a word.

He lowers the Scroll, seeing the people getting angry as they stand there, tensing up with rage. Watts looks down to them all.

"You have all been supplied with a coward of an idol to prevent you all from losing your hope and tearing down this entire city!" Watts roars to them all. Some of the civilians cheer with agreement, the anger spreading through the crowds. Through Mistral like the plague. "Tell me, all of you...would you accept the apology of this coward?" He asks the crowd.

"No!" They all bellow.

"And do you accept the cries of help from all the cowards who serve him? What of Atlas and the politicians that would leave you all in the dirt for their own gain?" He shouts.

"No!" The howls of a crumbling city respond.

"Then rise up! Rise up against these liars!" He roars. The crowds of Mistral charge everywhere, lighting fires and causing chaos under his rule. "Your idols have betrayed you all!" Watts roars. The crowd begin to cause chaos across Mistral, fighting other people that try to stop the chaos. In the crowds, some Mistraalian Knights do not succumb to Fury's cloud.

Then the Acolytes of Lien reveal themselves, pulling rifles from their Trench Coats and firing them at the loyal, killing them instantly from their ammunition fired. "Together we can rise against the monsters that pull the strings, together we will show the corrupt what happens when they leave us behind.” Watts continues as he stands on the roof. "But start by finding these cowardly idols, tear them down and free yourself from their lies!" He roars.

The manipulated civilians charge through the streets, throwing Molotov's through the windows of shops, setting them alight, he has begun a massive Riot in Mistral. Entire buildings catch fire, engulfed in the orange claws of fire itself, consuming them and anyone inside to dust. The riot members approach the old posters of Pyrrha Nikos, tearing them down and burning them on the floor, stamping her old flame out.

More extremists approach her old home, dragging her old mother from the house and throwing the Molotov's into the wooden houses, cheering monstrously as they go after the Invincible Girl's legend, tearing it down from the ideas that Fury and Watts put in their heads. The face of Pyrrha burns up as the alcohol is poured upon it and set alight, being destroyed by her own people. Fire and smoke billows from the shattered glass of her old home, all of her childhood memories and trophies left there to be forgotten in ash.

More civilians take up arms, pointing their rifles into the air, shooting them. "Hunt down the loyalists who serve the Cowards and tear them all down!" Watts calls out.

The Huntsmen and Huntresses of Haven start to get hunted down as the rioters charge through the gates, fighting them all. They can fight them, just not from so many numbers, and even some Huntsman and Huntresses succumb to the rage that Fury feeds to the city, corrupting the entire city with madness and anger, fire spreading through the city and pillars of smoke rising into the sky like new towers.

"The Atlesians! The Mistraalians! The Valerians! None of them will protect you, but the Acolytes of Lien understand your suffering and will always be by your side!" Watts promises to them all, and the rioters over time begin to become the Acolytes of Lien, the tattoos being drawn on their necks and the apparel provided to them, killing anyone that they see as loyalists. The rioters over time begin to become the Acolytes of Lien, the tattoos being drawn on their necks and the apparel provided to them, killing anyone that they see as loyalists. Meaning the Private Military are becoming more and more powerful by the second.

More rioters charge into homes, ripping their enemies from them and feeding them to the horde of rioters outside their homes. Sidewinder, the man who helped them try to change Weiss' identity is one of the poor souls dragged out and beaten in the streets from the rage. Their minds being manipulated by the powerful words of Doctor Arthur Watts, his epic voice echoing through the streets.

"The Huntsmen and Huntresses who have lied to you, punish them! Tear down what remains of their memories!” Watts roars. More rioters charge into homes, ripping their enemies from them and feeding them to the horde of rioters outside their homes. Sidewinder, the man who helped them try to change Weiss' identity is one of the poor souls dragged out and beaten in the streets from the rage.

"No longer will the world be divided. No matter how rich or poor, we will all rise up together. And those who try and hold onto the corruption – let their blood pour down the streets!” He continues, controlling them with his powerful words.

Rioters whoop and cheer, steeling food and alcohol from the supermarkets, feasting on them and popping off the caps from the champagne bottles, foam erupting from them. Cinder walks through the streets, rioters charging past her as they set light to parked cars. Awe coats her eyes as she looks at the chaos...this is not the type of thing that she ever wanted to see. She wanted to show that she was powerful...but she has never felt so small.

The Rioters gun the Mistraalian Knights down, their blood splattering against the walls and their bodies dragged into the streets. Adam stands against a pillar that some Rioters are behind, holding Wilt and Blush in his hand tightly. As they leave the building. Ilia and the Lieutenant emerge from the darkness with Fennec and Corsac, looking around nervously in the chaos, not understanding what is going on.

The rioters charge through the city, some with Molotov cocktails that are launched through the windows into buildings to set fire to what they own. Some civilians begin to take out weapons, from batons to knives and they begin to attack one another. Posters of Pyrrha are either being burned or being violated with the word – _MURDERER_ – on it, remembering what happened in the Vytal Festival with the death of Penny. “On this night! We will begin our campaign! We shall tear down the dictators that bring us down! And when we are done...we will be the ones to decide how we live our lives...” Watts snarls with a smirk, looking at Fury that stands beside him.

The Huntsmen and Huntresses in Haven Academy spin round with widened eyes as the huge doors to the building explode, with the four Knights of Grimm approaching, their wings folding away. Death stares at them with his eyes glowing fiercely.

Team A.B.R.N, the team that Team R.W.B.Y fought in the Vytal Festival are there with terrified looks in their eyes as the Knights stand before them.

The students of Haven Academy are thrown onto the floor with force and left there with their hands tied behind their backs. They look up and they stare in horror as the Knight of Fear forms before them. His Scythe gripped in his hand. They look around in terror as the Knight of Loss also forms behind them and Death emerges from the darkness. A clone of Fury also forms from the fires that rage in the area around them, wielding both flaming Berserker Axes in his massive burning hands. They shudder in fear. Others flee for their lives, only to be gunned down by the rifle of the mysterious Onyx Phantom, stood atop one of the buildings, staring down at the body as he falls to the floor, killed instantly from the shot. She stands tall, staring down at the chaos emotionlessly.

Watts raises his fist with a smirk.

“Tonight! Our suffering will end – and our Queen...will rule again.” Watts assures with a smirk as the riot rages in the street.

The Fall of Mistral...

Has Begun...

 

**Salem**

Months prior...

Salem stands at her Sanctuary, her red eyes staring out at the Fractured Moon, the purple shards of dust towering from the ground. Lakes of darkness bringing new Grimm to the world. She turns to see Watts stood there, when Cinder is still recovering from her injuries after the Fall of Beacon Academy. It has only been a few days since the tower collapsed and the school was left as ruins in Vale. "Watts..." She greets. He bows before her like a knight before their Queen.

"You summoned me, my Queen." Watts announces as he bows. Salem walks past him with her hands behind her back as she walks, creating a chilling sense of fear around Watts as she passes by him.

"I did." Salem states.

She approaches her seat at the table and Watts walks with her, taking his seat, since it is only the two of them here. Watts looks over at her, scratching his impressive moustache. "You are one of my most trusted lieutenants, so I have a mission for you." She begins. Watts crosses one leg over the other, giving her his full attention. "Beacon has fallen, and the Grimm are on the hunt to find the Relic in what remains." Salem explains to him. "We must prepare for the next step of our plan: Haven Academy." She explains.

"Same plan as before?" Watts presumes.

"No, I don't think so. We do not want to become predictable." Salem replies as she crosses her pale arms, the jewels attached to her hair clinking against one another.

"Then what shall we do?" Watts asks.

"Well, we have our informant in Mistral. From what you have told me about him, he is simply a coward. And the people look up to him, I believe that we can use that to incite panic." Salem explains to Watts, the Doctor begins to fully understand what she is getting at quite fast. "I want you to earn his trust, make him side with us instead of the others. He will always look out for himself, cowards always do. Give him some incentive to help our cause. We might not even have to destroy Mistral if all goes according to plan, he could give the Relic to us directly." Salem explains.

"What about the Silver Eyed Girl? She managed to cripple Cinder." Watts states. Salem does understand that Ruby is a threat to their plan and she clasps his white hands together as she contemplates.

"She is a threat..." Salem says. "But we shall hope that we will take it from Lionheart's hands before she ever gets there. And if she does get there and begins to interfere with our plans? Then we tear Mistral apart." She explains, clenching her hands into fists with a smirk on her face. Watts smirks as well, because he likes this plan because he gets to lead the attack instead of Cinder doing it.

"It will be done." He assures. He stands up from his seat and he leaves the room, walking out of the place.

 

Time passes...

Salem continues to watch the moon as it looks at her with the fragmented remains floating from its form. Cinder enters the room with Watts and Hazel, Tyrian is still hunting the Spring Maiden to get rid of her. She turns to the three of them and they all bow, Cinder weakly accomplishes the task, however she is still unable to utter any words from her injuries when Ruby attacked her with her abilities as a Silver Eyed Warrior. She looks at the humans who stand before her and she walks towards them with her hands behind her back as they always are. "Watts...how goes the infiltration in Mistral?" She asks him.

"It's going smoothly, he is already starting to listen." Watts answers.

"Good...I have some new information." Salem says as she walks around the area, her hands behind her back. "Some old friends of ours wish to join our side once more, Hazel I believe they followed you in hunting a Silver Eyed Woman?" Salem asks him and Hazel nods.

"The Acolytes of Lien?" Hazel asks with a surprised expression. It wasn't the White Fang that killed Sun's parents...it was the Acolytes of Lien, disguised as White Fang soldiers to conceal their identity from the crowd, to place the blame on the White Fang.

"The White Fang must be feeling the heat..." Salem says as she walks. "Now with the whole world calling out for their blood after Beacon, they will be hunted. And when that happens, they will turn to face us. We cannot let them get away with this. Hazel, I have a mission for you. I will inform you when the time is right, until then, keep your eyes peeled for the girl who did this to Cinder. She has Silver Eyes and has disrupted my plans with our Dragon." Salem explains to them all.

"Understood." Hazel answers with a respectful nod.

The three Lieutenants turns when they all sense the disturbing clicking sounds of the Seer, the floating Grimm with long tentacles dangling beneath it. The golden glow under the dark exterior with bone plates covering the skin pulsates, bone chilling clicking echoing through the room. It approaches Salem's side and she listens to it as it whispers to her in Grimm Tongue.

"The Onyx Phantom is ready? Good...prepare her." Salem orders.

The Seer moves off, bumping past Hazel as it moves back towards the doors and Salem walks over to her throne, sitting down upon it with her arms crossed as she sits there. Cinder looks at her, barely able to stand with a rasp in her voice, looking at her fearfully. "The Acolytes of Lien will join our side once more, and we have other powerful figures on our side with them who we can manipulate. Such as Jacques Schnee, which gives us a weapon to use against Weiss Schnee." Salem explains to them all, revealing that she knows all of Team R.W.B.Y, or at least all of their names, most likely from all the Creatures of Grimm they have killed over the years.

"With their help, they will help us take over Mistral and infiltrate the other Kingdoms, providing us with the knowledge we require to fully take the cities and then the Relics that they hide in those pathetic academies." Salem explains to them all, her red eyes glow brighter from the anger that flows through the red veins in her face and across her body.

She sets her hands down on the table and she looks at the three of them. "Cinder, Hazel. Leave us." Salem orders.

Cinder and Hazel look at each other and then at Salem, nodding and leaving as they follow her command, the doors slam shut behind them. Her eyes then focus onto Watts who stands before her. "What news do you bring?" She asks him.

"Raven Branwen is out there. My little birds have informed me that she has already helped assist Yang Xiao Long during one of Torchwick's plans." Watts explains to her, taking a seat at the table again. Salem hums to herself as she thinks.

"She is a lethal enemy to have..." She realises. "Is she opposing us?" Salem asks him.

"Yes, I believe she and her brother are not on the same side, though." Watts says.

"If they are intelligent then they shall join forces. It will make it easier for us." Salem says with a chuckle. Watts scoffs at the idea, looking down at the table. "Well, there is a way to handle her and the White Fang efficiently, where it does not interfere with our plans..." Salem reveals.

"And that is?" Watts asks her.

"Have you ever heard of the Knights of Grimm?" Salem asks him.

 

Present Day...

Salem looks out across the destroyed landscape of Beacon Academy, the cracked ground spread and Creatures of Grimm wandering across the wasteland. This school was once a thriving beautiful home, now it has been left to be forgotten forever. Dark clouds float across the skies of Vale as the creatures stalk the lands. Creepers roaring to the moon that hangs in the sky, looking down upon the world. Salem walks across the courtyard, the tree that flourished is now dead, the plants have died and the bark is charred. She walks and behind her are Emerald and Mercury.

They both look around in shock at what this place has become. They were only here a few months ago, and now it looks like this. Emerald looks at Mercury with afraid eyes, but they continue to follow Salem across the courtyard. "You may be wondering why I asked you to come with me?" Salem asks them as she walks, the Grimm bow down as she approaches, her very presence terrifies them into submission.

Emerald and Mercury look up the destroyed Beacon Tower, where the frozen Grimm Dragon remains. A portal forms before Salem, the same kind of portal that Raven uses, a singularity of reds and blacks swirling around all at once. Salem enters it and the two loyalists reluctantly follow her into the portal. The portal sends them to the top of the tower.

They all look around as they see the massive Dragon frozen above them, the roar frozen in stone as it stands up on the tower. Fury still in its eyes. "A little bit...yeah." Mercury answers finally, building up the courage to actually speak to Salem. Salem smiles and she chuckles quietly as she turns to them.

"Because you are loyal." She says to them both.

"Sorry?" Emerald asks in a confused tone.

"You are extremely loyal to Cinder...why?" Salem asks them both. Emerald looks at Mercury and he is looking at her the same way.

"Well...she promised that if I worked with her, I would never be hungry again." Emerald answers to Salem, and Salem just listens to their reasons, her attention turning to Mercury Black.

"She...gave me a second chance. When she found me, I was a murderer. I killed my own father..." Mercury answers her. Salem smiles slightly and she turns to the middle of the destroyed office that once belonged to Ozpin. Rust has formed on the remains of his table and the giant cogs that did not fall from the tower have also been plagued by it. But the only thing that has not rusted over and has not moved...

Is Pyrrha's Circlet.

It sits right where it has always sat, where Cinder incinerated her body. Salem holds her hand out to it and the circlet shoots upwards, into the palm of her hand and she catches it. She observes the circlet that she wore, the only thing that remained. "What a great warrior she was...such a waste." She sighs as she holds the circlet. Emerald and Mercury stand there, looking at Salem with fear in their eyes. And that fear is something that is completely understandable for them. Because Salem is unpredictable, she could do anything that she wants.

Honourably...

She crouches back down and places the Circlet back onto the floor where it fell out of respect for her.

Salem never ceases to surprise them.

"Why?" Emerald asks her and Salem pauses, her red eyes faintly glow more brightly, but then they return to normal, turning around to face them.

"Yes, child?" She asks them.

"Why did you ask us that?" Emerald asks her. Salem smiles menacingly as she stares into her eyes.

"Because I wanted to ask you something, since the two of you are the closest to Cinder since the death of her brother." She explains, revealing her lost brother to them now, something that they never knew about. "Do you believe that she is loyal to me?" Salem asks them, her hand to her chest as she stares at them. They both stammer when she asks such an important question, one that can decide their fates and also Cinder's.

"Yes." Mercury says as she looks at them both.

"And how are you certain of this?" She asks.

"She is the Fall Maiden, do you really believe that she would hold back if she wanted to betray?" Mercury asks her, hoping that his logic is enough to sway her. Salem does not show much expression on her deathly white face. She continues to walk back and forth before them, terrifying them both.

"And you, Emerald?" Salem asks her.

"Of course, she is loyal to you. As are we." Emerald says to her and Salem stops when she says that.

"Are you certain?" She asks her as she looks at her. Emerald pauses as she thinks of a way to word her answer, but she knows that the longer it takes for her to answer, the more suspecting Salem will become, and her paranoia is unparalleled.

"Because she wants to be powerful, to be feared...to be remembered. You can offer her that, as Cinder offered those things to us." Emerald answers to Salem. Salem breaks eye contact with them both, not saying a word as she looks up at her Grimm Dragon, frozen from the power of Ruby's silver eyes.

Salem looks at the Dragon and she presses her hand against the cold stone that encases the huge Grimm reptile. Red light suddenly charges through the veins in the arm of the powerful woman and her eyes glow bright red. Mercury and Emerald back up in fear. She stands there, and the tower begins to shake like an earthquake has a hold of it and is causing it all to shake. The stone begins to rupture, cracks spreading across the stone, chipping and crumbling off the inside of the Dragon that is still inside. The distant roars of the Dragon can be heard inside the stone as Salem holds her hand against it, channelling this power of hers into it to free the monster.

The stone continues to crack and fracture over the Dragon, crumbling down until the Dragon starts thrashing around with rage, the wings shattering the rocks like glass. The stone shell completely shatters and the Dragon bellows to the sky with fury, the roar echoing across the sky. The Dragon looks down at Salem who looks up at it. The Dragon lowers its head towards her hand as she strokes the side of its head, making it create a deep guttural humming sound from its throat.

Mercury and Emerald stand there in fear as she looks at the massive Dragon that has just been revived by Salem. "Ozpin thought he could stop me. But not this time..." She says as she looks at the Dragon. "Go to Mistral...and burn it to the ground." She demands. The Dragon spreads its massive wings out, creating a deafening roar to the sky, the shockwave from its roar travels over the mountains like the most powerful echo every created, forming tsunamis of sound.

The Dragon spreads the massive purple torn wings out as it roars, jumping off Beacon Tower and gliding away, leaving the three of them atop the old tower as it is left to the elements. Salem turns and walks away, leaving Emerald to look at Mercury with fear.

"What have we done?" Emerald whispers in fear.


	19. Extinction

**Ruby**

Ruby runs out of the building to Qrow after finding out what she has learned about the Schools, and that they are coming for Lionheart to gain access to his vault. Ruby looks around; there are now three military trucks with Mistraalian Knights, putting the Professor inside, and Qrow walks up to her. "Some Knights offered to help, so maybe Nora can shut up." Qrow sighs as he approaches her. Ruby looks up at her uncle, with a hint of concern in her huge silver eyes, something her Uncle catches onto immediately.

"Uncle Qrow, we need to get him to Haven, now." Ruby informs with her stammering voice.

"What's the hurry?" Qrow asks her, still confused by the lack of information.

"Because I have found something important out." Ruby says as she walks towards the car that they took here. Ruby opens the car door and she puts her foot in, turning to Qrow with her hand still holding onto the chassis. "The Relics, I know which ones are held at which school. Knowledge was Beacon, Creation is Mistral, Choice is Vacuo and Destruction is Atlas." Ruby explains.

"Okay, I still don't see the hurry, Mistral is secure." Qrow states, clearly they all have no idea about the deteriorating situation in the city right now.

"Watts has been playing him from the beginning. He has been trying to gain access to his vault by getting information out of him by earning is trust. Lionheart is the only person who can gain access to the Vault, just like how only Ozpin could at Beacon." Ruby explains to him. "Which means that the Knights of Grimm are coming for Professor Lionheart." She explains to him. Qrow understands very quickly and he nods, opening the car door as Scarlet gets in the back.

"Let's go." He says.

The car starts up with a roar and they all start driving out onto the road to get back there. They move across the roads, past traffic to get back to Haven, but whilst they drive, they all then see the smoke rising from different spots in the city. The riot is getting worse and it has all happened while they were in that facility. Nora's eyes widen in disbelief when she sees the smoke.

"Oh no..." She gasps, concern in her tone, thinking about Ren who's still in there.

“What hell is going on in there?” Kassius questions as he grasps the back of Qrow’s seat, staring at the city of Mistral with smoke rising from the many riots that have been sprung. Ruby’s eyes move downwards to the scroll in her pocket and she takes it out, to reveal Weiss’ profile picture on her contact list that is calling her right now.

“Weiss?” Ruby mumbles.

Ruby answers the call, holding Scroll out on speakerphone so then everybody can hear what she says. “Ruby?” Weiss calls with worry in her voice, worrying every single one of them right now.

“Weiss?” Ruby asks.

“Nora!” Nora squeaks with excitement somehow, throwing all of them through a loop. Kassius looks at her with a raised eyebrow at how she could possibly be all gleeful in this time of crisis.

But that is Nora Valkyrie after all.

Ruby returns back to the call, moving on from her adorable friend. “Weiss...what’s going on? We can see the smoke from all the way out here.” Ruby asks her with confusion.

“ _Out here_? What are you talking about? Where are you?” Weiss questions, since she and everyone else has no idea of what they have just seen.

All they knew is that they were confronting Lionheart.

“Lionheart took us to an old facility outside of Haven Academy; it had some old documents on the Relics that Ozpin told us about.” Ruby explains. “The one here is the Relic of Creation, and that guy with the moustache when we were jumped by the Knights and Cinder?” Ruby asks her.

“I remember.” Weiss answers.

“We saw him in Lionheart’s office when we first arrived here, and he took note of my eyes. He is playing Lionheart like a fiddle and it must be so then he can get the Relic from him.” Ruby explains her theory to her friend.

“And deliver it to Salem...” Weiss realises her theory as well, and Ruby nods her head.

“Exactly, we are bringing Lionheart back to Haven as we speak.” Ruby tells her.

“Yeah...about that.” Weiss stammers, getting Qrow’s attention, his red eyes turn with concern.

“Weiss...what’s with the smoke?” Qrow asks her.

“Yeah, it was fine when we left.” Nora agrees.

“I’m not sure what happened, one moment it was totally peaceful and the next it was chaos, the civilians in the city suddenly started going crazy. Starting violent riots for some reason, and I am worried about all the negative energy this is stirring.” Weiss explains to them all from her side of it, and they can even hear the faint yells in the background of her end of the call.

Ruby glances to the wild lands and Mistral, to the forests and the hills and her eyes slowly begin to widen as she sees a small amount of Grimm already approaching the walls of the city. From Beowulves to Creeps, but it will only be so long until the Goliaths and the bigger Grimm arrive.

The Walls only survived the attack last time only by so much, it is unknown if they could survive a full blown attack by a herd of Goliaths. “Your fears are understandable...there’s Grimm Activity out here.” Scarlet informs, which worries them but it is a good thing that he warned them ahead of time about that. That may bring concerns to Weiss’ paranoia, but in this time of crisis, they must be ready for anything.

“Everyone is out right now trying to calm everything down, Jaune has gone to save Pyrrha’s mother, and some of the rioters were marching on her house.” Weiss adds.

“Crap...okay we’ll be there are fast as we can!” Ruby agrees.

“This isn’t good, kiddo.” Qrow warns, and Ruby nods her head.

“I know...but it never is.” Ruby states.

The cars continue to drive across the road back to Mistral.

But whilst they drive, Scarlet's expression turns to curiosity when he sees a couple of cars approaching from behind. A man opens the door and he throws a device into the road, it is a small metal machine that bounces and slides across the floor. It slides across the floor and the man smirks as he looks at them, the cars drive away as they close the doors. Scarlet looks at the device and suddenly a large blue pulse of energy forms in a sphere with a metallic crackle. The driver of the other car protecting the Professor gasps with shock from what he sees emerging from it.

A tall red mechanical is thrown from the portal, rolling onto its two feet as it forms and it sprints after them. It forms a long staff in its hand, blue dust energy forming the blades as it slashes right through the car, killing the driver and causing it to flip. The Android jumps at the car as it flips forward, and then catapults itself into a large highway sign, smashing straight through it and knocking it over. Scarlet looks back in disbelief as he sees it running. Ruby stares at the machine and she gasps, and Nora recognises the design as well.

From the same location.

The Island they attacked months ago.

"Those are Merlot's..." Ruby realises as the memories begin to flood her mind.

Two more form from the devices that seem to summon these robots into the field. The two Androids leap over the topped over structure and they sprint with the first one to keep up with the cars, and they are actually running past these cares, their metal hands clenched into fists as they run. They are staring straight at the car with Lionheart inside. "They're going for Lionheart!" Nora yells, prepping Magnhild for moving combat.

The three Knights sprint at great speeds, they have been vastly improved since they last saw them, and they are also much bigger. The joints and armour is improved, making them move more fluently and this is making them run faster than these civilian vehicles on a free way. They are also much stronger, punching cars out of their way with their fists, causing the vehicles to flip and come apart from the crash. Their glowing blue eyes are fixed on his car as they sprint, creating metallic snarls as they run, like they are actually breathing as they run. In their optics, they have a system activated that has their bodies locked onto their target.

That is the car that carries Professor Leonardo Lionheart.

As they charge, an image of Doctor Merlot appears in all their heads, giving his commands to them. His strong voice speaking to them with certainty and determination. “Apprehend the Professor – casualties are not a concern.” Merlot orders, revealing how ruthless he really is since he does not care for the condition that the innocent civilians are in just so then he can get his job done.

The blue visors suddenly glow bright red and they roar with a metallic bellow, sprinting harder this time, determined to capture the Professor.

The trio sprint directly towards the car that the team are inside and Qrow stares at them through the interior mirror of the car, seeing them in the reflection as they catch up with them. He turns his eyes to the others and he nods. “You all ready to kick some ass?” Qrow asks them all.

Nora smirks. “Oh yeah.” Nora assures.

Nora picks up Magnhild, Ruby holds Crescent Rose, Kassius has Vulcan Nox and Lash Equinox at the ready, and Scarlet readies his Flintlock Pistol and Sword as they get closer and closer.

“We can’t let them get to Lionheart – we have to stop them at all costs.” Qrow orders as he draws his sword if he needs to use it.

The three sprint towards the car, two run round it and the one in the middle leaps straight over it. The four of them kick the doors open to fight them, sprinting with them, their Huntsmen Training giving them the speed to keep up with these upgraded machines. The middle-man lands on the tarmac, sprinting after Lionheart.

Nora sprints at one of them with Magnhild and she fires her grenade launcher at it, a heart of glowing pink grenades shooting towards it. The grenades explode upon contact, making it flinch and it blows some metal plates from its body, but it keeps on running, essentially shrugging that impact off. But Scarlet jumps into the air, aiming his grappling hook in his Pistol at the Knight and he pulls the trigger. The bright muzzle flash follows with the cabled hook shooting towards the Valerian Knight and stabs straight through the armour, the hooks penetrating and snapping on.

The Knight roars in anger, sparks and smoke erupting from the wound. "Gotcha!" Scarlet laughs as he holds on, dragging him behind it, sliding across the tarmac like he is skiing. He hauls it back to try and slow it down but it refuses to stop, the Pirate Huntsman guffaws with enjoyment. He pulls down with all his might and Nora takes her chance. She throws the grenade launcher into the air, the metal transforms into her own personal Mjolnir and she smashes it straight into its torso with force, laughing with enjoyment whilst she does it.

The Knight explodes and the pieces bounce onto the road. Nora lands amongst the Valerian Knight's remains and she runs with the others, veering through traffic and Qrow tries to keep up with them. Somebody has to drive the car. Kassius holds onto the side of it with Ruby, aiming one of his Vulcan Noxes at the last two that are chasing after the car with the Professor inside.

"We gotta go faster! Faster! Faster!" Ruby hurries.

"This thing ain't a race-car, kiddo!" Qrow argues, his foot pressed down on the accelerator.

Whilst he drives, his bad luck comes into play as the Knights turn, and they start to use the traffic against them. One of them hooks its metal hand underneath the body of a car with civilians inside it and throws it into the air to land on them. Kassius jumps and he holds his hands upward.

The car drops towards him and he catches it, using the strength of his muscle and channelling some of his aura into it to increase his strength momentarily, to stop the car from crushing him and to hold the weight up. He sets it down on the ground and then joins with Scarlet and Nora as they sprint after the two machines as they tear through the traffic, jumping over cars to keep up with them.

The old Valerian Knights could never run like that, they could barely run fast enough to outrun them. The two keep on throwing cars at them with force, the cars crash into the ground, creating a car pileup. Ruby jumps into the air, manifesting into a burst of rose petals to fly through them and Qrow transforms into his Crow form, flying between the cars as they crash around him.

The petals and crow transform back into their human forms, and they charge after the Drones with the others. "There goes the car!"

"Eh, it's only a rental." Nora says sarcastically.

"Remind me to never let any of us drive again; apparently we all have bad luck!" Ruby says as she runs, thinking of the past few times they have driven, so maybe Yang isn't a bad driver.

They all just shouldn't ever be behind the wheel.

The car with them inside drifts round and it enters the city. The Drones roll round the corner and they continue to run after them. Kassius has managed to run past the drones and he points his two wrist guns at them from behind. "Keep going! I’ve got 'em!" Kassius tells them as he shoots at them.

The bullets shoot towards them, impacting the metal plates, either scraping off with sparks of gold erupting off from the impact or from the damage that they have already sustained. Kassius uses the skills he has learned over time to dart between the cars in the road so he doesn't get run over or smash a car with the suit.

The two Knights continue to sprint after the car but suddenly a bright yellow light darts right past Kassius and towards the two Knights. Ruby stops when she sees her.

"Yang!" She screams, watching her sister come sprinting from out of nowhere. She must have figured out where they were thanks to Weiss informing her.

Yang throws herself directly into the two knights and they both crash into each other with force, creating a large golden flash of a bang that sends the three of them flying into the air. Yang performs a graceful back-flip in the air from the impact, thrusting her cybernetic arm downwards to engage her second Ember Celica and she primes the other. The two Valerian Knights sail through the air, pieces of armour has been cracked and blown off from her impact. Smoke bleeds from their chassis and they roar with metallic-ness in their tone.

The two knights crash into the ground like meteors, tearing the ground up and their metal bodies scrape across the ground as they all land. Yang lands onto both feet, staring at the two Knights as she lands in front of Ruby and Qrow. Nora and Scarlet finally catch up with them when they see the tall Sunny Little Dragon stood before them. Kassius runs over when the Drones stand back up.

They both aim their similarly designed weapons at the Knights, Vulcan Nox and Ember Celica both pointed at the Knights. The Knights then both point their speared staffs at them, sparks leaking from their bodies. "Hello boys..." Yang greets flirtatiously. Yang looks back at Ruby and the others. "Get into Mistral, it's a mess. The place is falling apart. A Riot is going down; help the others stop it from getting worse." Yang tells them.

"What?" Ruby questions in confusion, and only now do they notice the people in the distance fighting like animals, burning houses with Molotov cocktails.

"Go." Yang advises.

Ruby nods and they go a different direction, leaving Yang and Kassius to handle these two.

 

**Yang**

Kassius notices the situation with them all pointing guns at each other. "Whoa, little Vacuo Standoff we got here." Kassius jokes.

Yang smiles at him and then looks at the two Knights that are assessing the situation. They are also smarter than they were before, planning their attacks before doing anything. Unlike last time they met, they would just run at them and attack. They are both calculating their probabilities of success right now.

"So...what are we gonna do here, gentlemen?" Yang wonders as she looks at them. Kassius looks and Yang and he looks at his weapons then the floor.

“Play a bit of Soaring Ninja?” Kassius suggests as he looks at Yang, who clearly would not be against the idea, but the Robots snarl.

“Aw...” Yang sadly sighs.

"How about we surrender our weapons?" Kassius asks. The Knights look at him and her, like aggressive animals.

"Yeah, let's be civil." Yang agrees with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Weapons down." Kassius demands, sounding less jokey towards the Knights now.

"And we'll let you escape with your dignity." Yang smirks at them.

The Knights both look at each other and they both calculate their odds for success. They both stand there and Kassius watches their every move.

"Drop 'em." He orders.

He throws his hands down and the two firearms fall from his arms, disconnecting from his wrists and landing down on the ground. He is also holding both swords, and he drops those as well. Yang honours her end by releasing one Ember Celica and she deactivates the other, the metal re-positions into her arm as she stands down.

To their surprise, the Knights actually comply; they both drop their staffs onto the ground. Yang smiles as she looks at them, seeing that they are much smarter. "That's good; man these things are nicer than before." Yang beams.

But she has no idea that the Knights are preparing their next move. Their wrists open up and they reveal firearms inside. They both aim at them and they open fire. One fires a charged round straight at Kassius and it hits him right in the shoulder. He yells in anger. "Kas!" She screams in fear, but she has no time to worry when the other shoots right at her. She jumps into the air, avoiding the blue bullet as it burns into the wall. She lands onto the ground and she kicks her Ember Celica right to Kassius. "Kas! Catch!" She yells.

Kassius turns and he sees the golden gauntlet approaching him. He stretches his arm out and he manages to perfectly fit the weapon onto his. He spins around whilst in mid-air to face the Knight. The Valerian Knight has managed to pick its staff up and it jumps right at him, roaring aggressively at him with intent in its blue eyes. But he points Ember Celica right at its head and he fires a powerful round of orange dust straight into the skull of the Valerian Knight.

The head explodes, the metal plates completely set alight and they begin to melt down. The impact throws the Knight back, kicking its legs and arms up into the air as it is pushed back from the impact of that shotgun blast. "Look out!" Yang yells as she punches at the other Knight, using her Cybernetic arm to punch his arm off. The Knight staggers back as she kicks at him. But the Knight kicks her straight in the chest.

That time gives Kassius the chance to pick his sword up from the floor, flicking it upwards so the blade folds out from the hilt. The Knight runs right at him, snarling demonically as it runs right at him. Kassius slams the blade of his sword right through the Valerian Knight's skull, creating immense damage. The clamour from the Knight is cut short, sparks and smoke torrentially pouring from its head.

Kassius grabs the hilt with his cybernetic arm and he throws the Knight over his shoulder and onto the hood of a car. "Synthetic Punk!" He grunts, crushing the hood and roof of the car down from its weight.

The body is still partially alive, the optics still remains active, and they flicker but still are on. Until he kicks it in the head and pulls the blade out as the body is pushed off the car, killing it. He spins his sword through his fingers then flicks it downwards to deactivate it. "Damn, I'm good." He says with a smirk.

Yang stands up behind him.

"Um, we are good." Yang corrects his eyes widen and he realises he still has Ember Celica on his arm.

"Oh, of course." He surrenders as he throws it back to her and she easily catches it. "She still has some kick, knew I based Vulcan Nox off you for a reason." Kassius says, smiling as he walks towards where the others went. Yang smiles gently as she puts Ember Celica back on her wrist. He based his own gauntlets off Ember Celica itself.

He never did forget her.

"You know, we should try and come up with our own personal team name. How about..." She starts wondering as she walks with him. "Kas-long?" She suggests. She immediately realises that it sounds pretty silly. "Never mind that one." She says, making him chuckle.

"How about Firecracker?" He suggests.

"Ooh...I like it!" She squeaks.

 

**Ruby**

Lionheart's car drives through the rampaging streets of Mistral and finally arrives back at Haven, decelerating as it approaches the gates. The soldiers stop them and they see Sun and Sage stood there. Sage holds his sword in his hands as he walks over. "Sun!" Ruby calls. "What's going on?" Ruby asks him as she runs up to the blonde Faunus.

"I dunno, everything was hunky dory a second ago and now it’s like Beacon all over again.” Sun states as he walks up to them all. The car stops and the soldiers all get out. Sun looks at Lionheart in confusion. "Professor?" He asks as Sage walks over with his sword resting on his shoulder. Lionheart just looks at him but he says nothing when he looks at him, just staring out at his city.

His eyes are filled with anguish and rage.

"Those Mercs have guys everywhere, they just had some Merlot Robots chase after us." Ruby explains to him.

“Merlot’s back?” Sun questions with confusion, he was never there to see what happened on that Island but they told him and his team the story of what they saw.

“Crap, I was hoping he would’ve died in there ages ago.” Scarlet states as he holds his Flintlock Pistol and sword in his hands, patting Sun’s shoulder as he walks over to them all.

“He could have more of them out there.” Ruby warns fearfully.

"We'll keep an eye out for them, Sage!" He calls past Ruby to get his attention. The tall muscular green haired man turns to look at him. "Get the Professor inside, keep him safe!" He orders as Team Leader of Team S.S.S.N. Sage smiles and he nods at him.

"Consider it done, pal." Sage promises.

"We need to keep him safe, they're coming for him. He's the key to this whole thing. If Salem gets her hands on Lionheart the Relic is hers." Ruby explains to Sun and Sun is ready for answers, until they are all interrupted by the Professor as he stands there. He looks at the falling city and he sighs.

"She is indeed correct.” Lionheart begins as he stands there.

His deep voice creates an ominous aura that flows through the air.

Qrow watches him intently as he stands there, looking out with Sage behind him with his sword in his hand. "I wish everything could have gone differently, I wish Miss Nikos never tore that poor girl to pieces...but we don’t get what we want." Lionheart says to them all and they all look at him with confused and worried expressions. Qrow reaches to his back for his sword, nervous of what he is doing. "I made a promise to Humanity and Faunuskind alike...to do whatever it would take to bring us a better tomorrow.”

Kassius focuses his blue eyes on the Professor. “Lionheart...what the hell are you talking about?” Kassius questions fearfully, slowly readying his Vulcan Nox firearms. Kassius has never trusted the man, watching his hand right now.

It is shaking.

“I made a vow – and I will see it through no matter the cost. No matter who I must side with...I am sorry...” Lionheart sadly speaks.

He reaches towards the shield on his arm, twisting the knob on it and he sighs, as dust charges up inside the weapon.

"...but I made a vow." He snarls with a menacing scowl on his face.

Qrow pulls his sword out and Kassius aims and fires Vulcan Nox at him, but his bad luck charm makes him too late to stop what happens next. The bullet scrapes through his hair but misses and Qrow was too late.

Lionheart spins round and points the wrist mounted shield  right at Sage's back, pulling the trigger. The dust combines fire and rock together to form a glowing meteor of magma, and it blasts towards Sage. The asteroid hits him in the spine and he screams in agony as his aura is completely wiped out from the single shot, a powerful explosion of flames and chunks of molten rock surround him and his green aura crackles away.

He pulls the trigger again, creating a loud bang as it shoots straight through him and out his chest. His ribs explode open and blood splutters from his mouth and chest as he falls to one knee and to the floor. The shell burns right through him and the blade of his sword, snapping it clean in half. Shards of his shattered sword fall to the floor with smoke trailing from where the scorch marks have been inflicted. He crumples to the floor, crawling across it with gallons of red blood trailing behind him as he tries to crawl away from the traitor.

Sun's eyes widen in horror and Ruby staggers back in disbelief at what has just transpired.

"Sage!" Sun screams as he spins Ruyi Jingu Bang through his fingers, gritting his teeth in rage. Sage splutters onto the ground in pain, rolling onto his back, and Lionheart fires the weapon at Sun, the burning rock explodes into his chest and throws him across the ground, nearly breaking his aura.

"What have you done?" He whimpers in pain, pressing his hand to his chest, whilst his other has been reduced to a hanging lump of flesh. His hand dangles by the sinew of where his arm used to be, snapped bones with burning coals of rock imbedded in his arm.

"May your soul find peace amongst the Infinite and the Unbound.” Lionheart religiously speaks, pointing his weapon right at Sage's head. Qrow runs towards him but the soldiers who took him here turn and they aim their rifles at him, shooting straight at him, lowering his aura down and knocking him to the floor.

Only now do they notice the tattoos on their necks, which have been undercover the whole time.

The shield spins round and forms an icicle with the dust that is the same level as a bullet, frothing with cold fog. Lionheart emotionlessly stares at Sage and he pulls the trigger, sending the shell carves straight through his forehead. His head snaps back and red blood covers the floor, his body falling lifeless to the floor as he lays there.

Scarlet and Sun stand there, horrified as they have just watched their teammate get murdered right in front of them. Qrow takes cover and he fires shotgun rounds as he folds the blade down to shoot at the soldiers who are opening fire on them. Ruby is shell-shocked from what has happened.

Her eyes focused on Sage's body.

Sun's rage causes him to run at him but Nora grabs his shoulder, pulling him back. "Don't be an idiot! We have to go!" Nora screams, firing her grenade launcher right at the traitors. The soldiers all shoot at them with their rifles and some of her grenades kill them but Lionheart stands by the corpse of Sage, shooting his Magnum at them over and over again, killing the loyal soldiers and nearly hitting Qrow in the head as he retreats back to them. Lionheart turns and he sprints off. He retreats back to Haven and Ruby watches in horror as he does it. He charges towards it and Ruby looks at the deceased body of Sage on the ground.

Lionheart sprints through and he sees the four Knights leading siege on the Academy, killing all of the Students that were teaching there. Fury sprints at many of them, slashing his axes at them aggressively, each swing knocks their auras out and then he kills them when he lodges the axes into their bodies. Death pushes his sword into the stomach of a student, screaming in pain, reaching up at the terrifying monster as he devours his soul, the metal helmet slide back to reveal the flaming skull inside.

His body disintegrates away and his aura enters his form. Fear pushes his hand out, a cloud of fear surrounding the students, sending them into seizures of fear on the ground, screaming from their worst nightmares. He kills the others with his Scythe, swinging it back and forth, cutting through them like grass. Loss stands on a building, launching arrows from atop, killing them instantly as their either flee or try and fight. Either way, her aim his sharp and she is ruthless, leaving no prisoners.

None of them do.

Death turns to a familiar face who runs at him, a student from the Vytal Festival. Reese from Team A.B.R.N tries to attack him but he simply swings his sword at her, beheading her in one swing, throwing her from her hover board. These incredible huntsmen and huntresses who have been training for years...cut down like grunts in the field by the Knights. Nadir shoots his rifle at Fury but it has no effect on his magma form, and he throws his tomahawk of fire right into his chest. The blade slams straight into his rib cage and he stammers, spluttering in pain as he falls to one knee. Fury rips the blade out, the action is so forceful that it throws Nadir across the courtyard and into the tree in the middle.

The tree is on fire from Fury's contact against it only moments ago, forming a pillar of smoke into the sky. Fear sends Bolin into a frenzy of screams as he shows him his worst fears before him, all at once which makes him crumble to the floor, scraping his own fingers against his face. Fear looks down at him, his golden eyes locked with his as he presses his rotten boot against his throat. He chokes as he screams now, but his screams are silenced from the internal snapping sound of his neck being broken from the single turn of his ankle, killing him as well.

The last member is Arslan, she holds her fists up in the fighting position to fight the three Knights. She knows that she will die, but if she will be cut down, she wants to die with honour. Fear laughs maniacally, pushing the body of Bolin from his foot disrespectfully. Death glares at her, but Fear just clicks his fingers. An arrow flies right past them and through her eye, making her body become ridged and twitch as it protrudes out the back of her skull, blood dripping from the arrowhead.

Loss stands tall, holding her bow in her hand and she looks down at all the death and emotionlessly continues on.

They all stand there...

Wiped out Team A.B.R.N...In seconds...

Lionheart runs past them and Death watches him, letting him flee to his tower. But Ruby runs over, aiming her rifle at Lionheart to shoot him for what he did. She pulls the trigger, sending the round after him with a loud bang. Until the black blade of Death stops the bullet in its path, cutting it clean in half and onto the ground. He stands in her way and the four Knights all stare at the Silver Eyed girl.

Lionheart retreats, disappearing from their vision. Nora is the only one in the right state of mind right now, Yang and Kassius are still catching up after what happened. Ruby glares at them, gritting her teeth in rage as she stares at them. But the Four Knights just turn and they vanish in their own way. Death fades away into a cloud of smoke, Fear becomes a swarm of carrion flies, Fury extinguishes himself, vanishing like a flame, and Loss becomes a cloud of fog that carries away from them all.

And as soon as they arrived...

They vanish.

Leaving the spoils of their slaughter behind.

Ruby stammers in horror as she looks at the team that helped them at the Fall of Beacon, they were so strong...

Now they are all dead. Along with Sage.

Qrow walks into the courtyard, horrified from what he looks at. Dead students everywhere. Only now do the words of Doctor Oobleck make sense.

I look around here and see lives that could have been saved...

How many lives could have been saved here if they were faster? Ruby remains shell-shocked.

This is not war.

This is extinction.

 

 


	20. The Cowardly Lion

**Lionheart**

 

Lionheart pushes the doors of his office open, frantically locking it to escape. The screams of the students can be heard from inside as the Knights of Grimm cut them down with ease. He stammers in fear as he searches through his drawers to find a way to get into his Vault.

He looks up at the door every now and then and he hears the scream of a student pounding on it for help. "Professor! Help us!" He cries out. His screams grow and grow, the deep and heavy footsteps of something approaching him. "Please no!" He cries out. His screams are silenced when the black blade protrudes through the wooden door and blood leaks into the room. He stammers in horror, knowing that one of his students has been killed by Death.

He expects Death to enter but he doesn't. He disappears as quickly as he arrived. The Knights are wiping out the Mistral Defences and he picks up a device in his hand and he looks right at it, breathing through his nose. He then picks up a key, the same key that was used to go to the Vault on Beacon. Lionheart steps away from his desk, towards the elevator.

"If you turn back now...I will tear this school apart to get in there." Death threatens. He stops and he looks over his shoulder, seeing his potted plants dead, the Archangel of Death stood behind him with his sword in his black armoured hand.

"I know what's at stake." Lionheart promises.

"Ozpin was arrogant enough to carry his Relic everywhere he went...at least you know where it should be." He says.

Death turns and walks away from him. For whatever reason, the Knights of Grimm cannot manifest themselves into the Vault, something is blocking their entrance. Perhaps the architects found a way to keep them out of the Vault, a barrier of some kind. Lionheart steps into the open elevator and the doors close in front of him as Death vanishes in a cloud of smoke.

The elevator starts to move down the mountains at great speeds to enter the Underground Vault that each Academy seems to harbour. He shakes as he stands there, knowing that his Kingdom is falling right above his head.

But he wants only one thing out of all of this.

Survival.

The elevator comes to a stop eventually at the bottom floor and the doors open up, revealing the huge dark green vault, green flames burning on the torches inside. He runs inside, running as fast as he can to find the Relic and to keep them from becoming too impatient. He turns in the cross section. There are hundreds of ancient artefacts in here that have never been seen before.

From black Odachi's instead of red to unknown elements kept here. Some of these things must be so important that they must be hidden here. He finally reaches the end of the hall and he sees the large container that contains the Relic. He holds his hand before it and he twists it round, the light piercing through, nearly blinding him. He looks at the small rock, how something can be so powerful...and so small...it is really terrifying. He picks up a cane that is beside it, very similar to the one that belongs to Ozpin.

The Canes must be designed to carry the Relics. He opens the head of the cane and he presses it down onto the Relic like using a pair of tongs to pick up something that is extremely hot. The relic is connected to the cane's interior as he picks it up and the cane charges up. He twists the lid of the cane's head back on to contain the power and he runs from it as the place begins to shut down. It's like they used it to charge the place, and now it all makes sense...

How they have survived this long without Atlesian Tech...

They have been using the Relic as a Power Source to survive, to power their defences around the walls that guard their precious home from the Grimm. And now he has taken that power source from the network. He flees back to the elevator and to return to the surface. The elevator flies up the shaft to return to the top, he stammers in fear as he stands inside. Hearing the rumbling of destruction getting stronger and stronger the closer to the top he gets.

Then he arrives at the top, the doors open and he looks around in fear when he checks if none of them are there. He did just kill Sage in front of all of them and he tried to kill the others as well. He runs as fast as he can to get outside, panting as he runs. He emerges in the courtyard, the corpses of his students lying across the floor, blood staining everywhere. In the background, Watts and Tyrian walk around and Watts looks at him as he approaches Death. "What a fantastic scheme, this is!" Tyrian laughs as he walks with the mastermind. "So when you were dealing with him, it was to make him defect?" Tyrian asks.

"Originally I was gaining his trust to get access to the Vault, but when I learned of how much of a coward the man is...all I needed was to give him some incentive. And now he is giving the Relic to Death directly." Watts explains with pride as he leans against the wall with his arms crossed.

"Excellent strategy." Tyrian snarks.

Watts smirks with a chuckle. “Of course it is – I made it.” He chuckles, showing his self-centred ego at its full potential. Tyrian smirks as he stands beside the Doctor, his fully regenerated tail arched over his shoulder as he watches the chaos happening beneath him.

Lionheart approaches the Knight of Death with the relic and he gives the staff to him, and Death takes it, looking at the Staff. He looks at Lionheart and he just nods, walking away from him. Watts now holds the device that he took from his desk in his hand. A Crow flies across the battlefield and returns, transforming into Qrow as he runs after him. "So what is the next step?" Tyrian asks Watts curiously.

Watts chuckles menacingly. "We have fed information to our infiltrators, and they have been planting bombs on Mistral's defences. Now? Now we burn the city to the ground." Watts answers.

Lionheart flicks the cap open to hold his thumb above the detonation button, a red pressurised plate on the device that he holds. "Commencing Clean Slate." He says. Qrow stands there with his sword in his hand.

"Stop! No! No don't, Lionheart!" Qrow screams, begging him as he stands there.

"Forgive me, old friend." Lionheart prays, pressing his thumb onto the button.

The light on the side flashes green. The large defence towers erupt into an aura of orange light, large explosions completely annihilating the defences. The concrete that constructs the huge buildings ripple like water as the explosive shockwave blasts through it. Crumpling and shattering like glass from the detonating bombs, thrown sky high and into the city with smoke and dust trailing behind. The turrets that they have built all are completely destroyed in one moment, their huge barrels and dust crystals inside exploding into a firework display.

Qrow's eyes widen in horror when he sees the explosions that completely wipe the defences out. The Grimm across Anima all turn and they growl as they sense the panic and the riot, and they all converge on the city. Like a cloud of darkness approaching the city like the bubonic plague to kill everything inside. The armouries suffer the same fate, being destroyed from the explosions, the ammunition all going off. Every defence tower crumbles from the mountainside, all of their Airships that were docked explode from the bombs placed inside, putting an end to the Mistraalian Air Force.

Watts smirks as he stands there, clenching his hand into a fist. "And so...an Empire falls." He says with a smile.

The team look around across the city, seeing the smoke rising from the destroyed towers that have been destroyed and they can already sense the presence of the Grimm getting stronger the closer they get. From Beowulves to Deathstalkers to Goliaths, everything is coming to an end for Mistral. Lionheart retreats from the scene as Qrow sprints after him. They both run and Qrow leaps at him, tackling him down the stairs. They grunt and groan as they both fall down the stairs, hitting their heads on the cobblestone steps as they fall.

They both roll onto the floor across from one another. Qrow growls in anger as he glares straight at Lionheart on the floor. "You lied...to us...for years?" Qrow questions as he sits there, staring at him. Lionheart shakes as he sits there.

"Yes." Lionheart answers.

Qrow sits upright as he looks down at the man.

"Your people aren't ready?" He asks.

"No." Lionheart answers again. "I tried to do my duty, Qrow. But when I saw what was coming...I realised...we've got no chance." Lionheart explains as he sits there. "And I resisted the temptation for years but when Watts offered me a chance that I could...that I could live through it...I couldn't pass that chance up." He reveals, filling Qrow's heart with anger and disgust.

"You goddamn coward." He snarls in anger as he glares at him. Lionheart gets up and he looks at the Huntsman, approaching him.

"It's what I am." Lionheart says. "Ironwood is the Tin-Man, Ozpin is Oz, me? I'm the Cowardly Lion." He reveals, swinging his fist at Qrow.

The two of them fight each other in the remains of haven, and around the falling walls of Mistral is the horde of darkness that is converging on Mistral, attracted to the negative emotions of the riot.

They are running out of time.

 

**Jaune**

He sprints through the chaotic streets of Mistral, the rage that has been fed to these people has led them into a savage and animalistic state of rage, punching random people and even trying to kill them, clawing them with their nails as they scream, not even making words.

Revealing his main weapon that he can use as a Knight, he tears people apart using anger.

Jaune walks through and he gasps when he sees the burned posters of Pyrrha on the floor, he can hardly even see her beautiful face on their anymore because of the flames that have just consumed it. He stammers in horror when he sees it, but he hears a familiar scream of terror and he runs round the corner to find Pyrrha's mother on the floor, being attacked and screamed at by a bunch of rioters. "You daughter was a failure!" One of them screams in anger, kicking her with his boot.

 Jaune grits his teeth in anger, running towards them and he draws Crocea Mors from its sheathe and he holds his shield in his hand. He grabs one of the protesters, throwing him aside.

"Hey!" Jaune yells. "Leave her alone!" Jaune demands, pointing the tip of his sword at them all. One of them grits his teeth, growling and snarling like an animal and he lunges at him, that uncontrollable rage makes the guy make a bad decision.

 Jaune doesn't mean to slit his throat with the blade of Crocea Mors, the man runs right into it, and gallons of blood spill from the wound in his neck. He grabs the slashed wound with his hands, the blood pouring down his wrists, trying to stop it like pressing on a pressurised can that has just been stabbed. The blood pushing out hisses like gas and he splutters, making horrific noises as he collapses to the floor.

The others retreat, terrified of what Jaune had just accidentally committed.

Jaune stares at the blood on his blade and then at the body which falls to the floor, blood going everywhere...horrified of what has just happened.

The mother of Pyrrha Nikos looks at the dead body and then at Jaune. He is shocked from what just happened but he snaps out of it, looking at Pyrrha's mother and he helps her back to her feet. "Come on; let's get you out of here." He says.

He looks across the road and he sees Pyrrha's home completely ablaze, the inferno rising into the sky. All of her childhood memories reduced to ash, everything that she ever was has just been destroyed. The only people who remember the real, kind, Pyrrha Nikos, are the people that he is friends with.

Everything she ever had.

Scattered...

Into the winds of distant memory.

He helps her through the streets to get her to safety as he flees, holding his sword in his hand. But when he walks, he stops and his eyes widen when he sees her stood before him. The Onyx Phantom, she wields a metal sword in her hand and the black hood shrouds her face, her black hair by her shoulders. Glowing orange eyes fixed with his as he stands there, holding her mother close. She tenses her hand as she stands there, not saying a word but she only tilts her head slightly. But when she blinks, she blinks quickly and Jaune notices something in her irises.

They change colour for a split second.

A flash of pink and brown.

"It can't be..."

Someone runs right in between them, blocking their vision for a second, and when the civilian passes by, the Phantom is gone.

 

**Sun**

On his knees beside his friend...

The hole through his head and his body nearly blown to pieces from Lionheart’s weapon...he cannot even fathom it. His hands are still shaking as he stares down at his corpse, and Blake runs round the corner, gasping when she sees Sage’s body right there. Her eyes widen when she looks at Sun, seeing him utterly broken beside his friend, and Scarlet with his hands pressed to his head. Neptune is with Weiss who catches up...

And his eyes...

Fill with tears when he sees his corpse on the ground, so much blood everywhere and his completely shattered sword scattered across the ground. “No...” Neptune whispers with horror as he stumbles towards him, falling right beside his body. It felt like a weight forced him down to his knees beside him, emotional weight that he feels as he stares at his friend. He presses his hands to his blood soaked corpse and he sniffles. “Sage...please...” Neptune whimpers with horror.

Neptune and Scarlet both cry.

But Sun...

He just looks angry, his fists slowly clenching into fists with anger and his teeth gritting together with more and more rage filling his body. “Where...is he?” Sun snarls as he pushes his teeth together, snarling aggressively with so much rage in him. He immediately stands back up and picks Ruyi Jingu Bang, but Kassius stops him with both his hands.

“Whoa, Sun! Calm down, we can’t go after him. The Knights are in there in full force.” Kassius warns, hearing what Ruby told about the deaths of Team A.B.R.N, they might not have known them very well. But they stayed and fought at Beacon even though it was not their Kingdom, so that was enough reason to show respect to them in the end. They just wish they could have had a single conversation with them before they were cut down.

Of all the people, Kassius would know exactly what Sun is feeling, as would Jaune, Nora and Ren. Who are out there right now trying to find Jaune in the riot crowds that swarm the city right now. But Sun pushes Kassius out of his way, his eyes narrowed with anger as he storms towards Haven.

But then, Blake gently touches his chest with her hand, and he stops. “Please Sun...Don’t...” She begs with tears in her amber eyes, she does not want him to suffer the same fate as Adam did when he let his rage consume him.

“He has to die...he murdered my friend!” Sun yells with anger, but none of it directed at Blake.

And she knows that, so she does not even flinch. She just wraps her arms around him, and he shows a face that is extremely surprised, wide blue eyes as he feels her warm embrace around his muscle toned body. She presses her head to his shoulder and he looks at her, tears trickling down his cheeks from his eyes. “Blake...please...I can’t let him get away with it.” Sun begs her.

“I know – but we can’t go after him... You heard Ruby, we don’t know how to fight them.” Blake gently says to him with her affectionate voice.

He eventually holds her in return, having to bury his head into her long soft black hair. Scarlet brandishes his sword with anger evolving in his eyes and so does Neptune. “He didn’t deserve to die like that – he deserved better.” Scarlet growls.

“He always wanted to go out in a blaze of glory! Not like this!” Neptune roars with anger, until Weiss hugs him as well.

Never have they seen Team S.S.S.N like this before.

Ruby stands there, sat down with her head pressed against the stock of Crescent Rose in its rifle form, unable to stop thinking about what happened to Team A.B.R.N and Sage. Yang walks over to her, and Oscar has found her as well. They both sit down with Ruby and Yang rests her blonde haired head on her little sister’s shoulder. “How are you holding up, sis?” Yang asks her gently.

“I don’t know...I just watched five people I knew die right in front of me. I tried to help them against the Knights and I felt so helpless...and I couldn’t save Sage in time. None of us could.” Ruby sniffles as she rubs the tear from her eyes.

“I’m sorry, Ruby – but we can fix this...right?” Oscar nervously asks them. They cannot hear the voice of Ozpin in Oscar’s head.

“I trusted him...This is all my fault.” Ozpin says in the back of Oscar’s mind, and Oscar can actually feel the guilt in the back of his mind.

Ruby looks at Oscar to answer his question.

“We’ll damn well give it our best shot.”

**Qrow**

 

Qrow punches Lionheart across the face and he knocks him onto the ground, gaining the upper hand, pressing the blade of his sword down on his neck to keep him down. "Stop this!" Qrow shouts in anger.

"We can't beat them, Qrow." Lionheart says.

"We can't give into her, this is exactly what Salem wants!" Qrow argues. "There's a fifty-fifty chance that she will lose."

"And there's the other side that we will die trying." He says. Qrow doesn't even notice the hairs standing on end when he holds him down. Qrow looks up and he sees Fear stood there and Fear pushes his hand right at his face. A cloud of gas erupts from his finger tips and into his face. Qrow screams in terror as they instantly take effect on him and he stumbles off Lionheart when he crawls on the ground, his hands on his face. He screams and growls in fear as he lays there.

Fear stands beside Lionheart but when Lionheart walks towards Qrow, obscuring the sight of the Knight, Fear is gone when he should be able to see him again. Qrow shivers on the ground, twitching and looking around with paranoid delusions in his eyes. "You haven't seen what I've seen, Qrow. Few men have seen it." Lionheart says to Qrow.

Lionheart looks down at the Huntsman, somebody who is usually so brave is squirming in fear on the floor from one attack from the Knight of Fear. Qrow stammers, reaching around on the floor to try and shake the fear off but he can't. "I'm very sorry about this, Qrow. But I have to do this. Because when I do this, I will save humanity and the Faunus, and I'm doing it for you Qrow." Lionheart explains.

Qrow cries out in horror as he shakes, seeing his worst fears and most haunting memories. "I'm sorry, I can't watch you go through this, I'm sorry. I'm here for you, just listen to my voice Qrow." Lionheart states.

Qrow looks across the cobblestone floor and he sees his earpiece on the floor where it fell from his ear from the fall. Through the fears, he starts to reach out for it whilst Lionheart turns to leave him behind.

Lionheart looks back at Qrow. "Do you see her, Qrow?" He asks him, speaking of someone.

But who?

"She'll be with you soon." He assures. "Have you ever heard that old oath by the Mistraalians, Qrow? Do you remember?" Lionheart asks him as Qrow drags himself across the floor to reach the communication device.

"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality." He begins as Qrow reaches for it, but his semblance causes a gust of wind to throw it down a step, but he continues to reach out for it, stammering in fear as Lionheart recites the speech that Pyrrha once spoke of. "Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all." He continues as he walks down the steps, the darkness of the Grimm getting closer and closer, the deep red hue of their eyes combined in the shadows of their forms. "Infinite in distance and unbound by death," Lionheart recites. "I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee." He concludes. He stops and he exhales, turning away from Qrow one last time and finally leaving him behind as he retreats from Haven.

Qrow finally grabs the device and he thinks of the best possible person to find him and one name appears in his mind. "Winter! Help! Help!" Qrow begs.

Back at the Safehouse, she turns to her radio and hears his voice coming through. Weiss sits up with her eyes wide and she looks at Winter. Winter swiftly picks the radio up and answers it. "Qrow? What's going on?" Winter asks, but Qrow is struggling to talk through the toxin that is working its way into his nervous system to put him in this constant state of terror. Winter listens carefully, hearing what sounds like pain to her as he stammers and grunts from the fear, a burning sensation in his head as he lays on the ground.

"Fear...attacked..." He stammers, and luckily that is all Winter needed to hear. Her eyes widen and she looks at Weiss.

"Fear attacked Qrow, we need to help him." Winter tells her.

Weiss nods and the two sisters run from the Safehouse, outside and through the crowds of people fighting each other. Winter holds the radio close to her mouth to speak into it. "Qrow where are you?" She asks him. Qrow tries to muster the strength to speak through the fear that is crippling him right now.

"Ha-Haven...Co-Court-Yard." He stammers.

"Come on!" Winter hurries to her baby sister as they run as fast as they can to find the Branwen.

Qrow lies on the floor, shaking in fear as he lays there, and Fear returns as he walks around him. The rotten Knight passes round, flies buzzing around his form. His glowing gold eyes are locked with his red ones as he sweats and shakes in fear. But not of Fear himself. "You are strong...most would have entered the last stage by now..." Fear states as he looks down at Qrow. Fear crouches down beside him, pressing the Scythe down beside him as he looks at him, the hunched over man looks at him with a menacing smirk. "What is it that frightens you so much?" He asks as he looks at him as he shudders on the floor. "It's not my presence..." He states with a mad smirk on his face, staring down at the Branwen. He then smirks when he reads his mind with those golden eyes. "Ooh...is it more than fear? Regret?" He guesses as he looks down at him.

Qrow stammers as he lays there and in his eyes, his fear is revealed. Before him is the beautiful and young Summer Rose, flashing memories of her before his eyes. He sees her caress his cheek as she smiles with those silver eyes looking into his red ones. Even memories of the two of them being...closer than friends.

Young Qrow and Young Summer kiss affectionately in their dorms when Tai and Raven aren't there, holding each other close. And Fear can see this sad memories. "What did you do?" He asks him, making him close his eyes in sorrow with a tear coming out his eye from the fear of something that happened.

He loved Summer and something went very wrong.

"Your semblance...you killed her?" Fear guesses as he looks down at him.

"I...tried...to help...her." Qrow stammers.

"He took her from you and you took her from him." Fear chuckles.

"No...I asked her...to be with him." Qrow stammers, revealing some kind of sad history that he has, something that tore their family apart. Something other than Raven.

"Why?" Fear whispers to manipulate his fear to take control of him. Qrow shakes.

"Bad...Luck...Charm..." He stammers, revealing his fear.

He is afraid of himself.

Fear smirks menacingly as he stands up, turning away from him as soon as Weiss and Winter finally get up the steps, finding his shaking body on the floor. Neither of them even saw Fear stood there, he vanished as soon as he got there. Winter puts her hands on his shoulders but the fear is showing him the images of Summer over and over again, the happy moments the young couple must have had, revealing that Ruby's mum and her honorary uncle once loved each other. So much regret flows through his veins.

What did you do?

"Hold on, Qrow, you have to fight it, look at me." Winter says, holding him by his face to get him to look into her blue eyes. "Don't be afraid of him, he is trying to break you." Winter says, using her soothing voice to try and calm him, like Ren's ability to hide people from the Grimm by calming them.

"Tail...she's not coming...Tai..." Qrow stammers, like he did when he was dying from Tyrian's poison not very long ago, descending into memory.

"What's he talking about?" Weiss asks her sister.

"He's falling into a memory." Winter answers. Winter slaps him across the face to try and snap him out of it.

"Who's Tai?" Weiss asks.

Winter doesn't answer, but she knows about what happened with Tai and Qrow, why he hates Qrow. Qrow continues to shudder on the floor as he lays there, his hands twitching as he lays there, his eyes watering up as he sees it all play back in his head from what happened.

 

He falls into a memory

He sees Summer stood there as they were fighting something. Something dangerous. Summer and him fight back to back, as they managed to go out on a mission together again. Things happened between them when they met again...things that he never told Tai, but they met up for something more than the mission. They were still in love...even then. Spending time together outside the realms of their mission to...reconnect. He sees the two of them in a bed together, happily asleep as they hold each other close.

They were so close...so in love. Qrow smiles as he looks at them in this memory, but then it returns to the battle in the forest. Qrow and her fight with their weapons, with her Crescent Rose and with his Scythe as they battle with speed and agility. Killing many Grimm.

Until a dark mass formed before them.

The red eyes fixed on them and the black blade forming into his armoured hand. Qrow and Summer look at the being in horror, they know what he is now...but not then. It was Death, and he came to claim a soul. He went for Qrow and Qrow tried to fight against him, using his Bad Luck Charm to gain the upper hand.

Death is fast, dodging and blocking the attacks of the Huntsman and Summer slashes across his back with her Scythe but he just spins around, kicking her in the chest, tearing her aura down. "Don't come closer!" Qrow yells, wanting to keep her safe. Death forms into a transparent structure when Qrow slashes his sword across his torso, the blade hitting nothing and then Death solidifies in front of him, bringing the blade round with force. The blade hit Qrow in the chest but Qrow uses his sword to keep his body from going too far. Qrow manages to manipulate that charm on Death, causing a tree to fall onto Death, clipping him as it falls. But Death managed to use that charm against him when Summer tried to help.

A tear falls from Qrow's eye now when in the memory he watches the blade sink into her stomach right in front of him and Death threw her into a wall. Qrow's rage led to him managing to destroy that form of Death, stabbing him in the back and cutting him down faster than he could regenerate.

Death bellows in pain as his form collapses into itself, he managed to hit him in the place where he is weakest, his back, there is less armour there. Time and space rips his body apart as he collapses, revealing a weak point, a chink in his armour where he is weakest. It causes him to collapse into himself when hit enough times.

After he stops him, his eyes turn to the dying Rose by the tree, roses surrounding her body as her blood leaks into the green grass. He sniffles now when he sees it in his eyes.

He held her in his arms, her blood on his arms because of his semblance. He tried to stop the bleeding by looking into her large and beautiful eyes. "Oh no..." He stammered as he looks at her, holding her tight. She whimpered in pain, blood leaking from her mouth. "Hold on, honey...please..." He begs her as he holds her close, giving her head something to rest against.

Her white hood has fallen back, revealing her black and red hair, and she looked just like Ruby, true beauty on her face. Summer smiles, reaching her hand up to caress his cheek, her blood smudging on his cheek.

"I love you." She mutters, her eyes getting weaker.

"No...hold on." He begs, holding her hand tightly. "I'm not losing you...I can't." He says. She looks into his eyes and she shows him the photograph of young Ruby and young Yang with Tai, and he is in the background.

"I'll always be with you." Summer says to him. She takes a sharp intake of air to keep conscious as she speaks to him.

"Please..." He begs her.

"You need...to be her Uncle. I beg you...we can't destroy her life if she knows the truth. Tai knows...that's why he took her because of..." Summer explains as she looks at him.

"Bad luck charm..." He stammers, tears falling from his eyes.

"This is not your fault." Summer says, coughing from her pain as her blood falls into the bed of roses beneath her small body. "Whatever that thing was...it was always gonna happen. Don't let this..." She winces. "Don't let this moment define you." She asks of him. "My heart...will always belong to you." Summer reveals.

"I can't live without you." He sniffles, crying as he holds the dying woman.

"And I you." She cries as well, they both press their foreheads together, their tears falling down their cheeks.

They share a long and final affectionate kiss by the beautiful tree and amongst the roses, life growing around them despite her dying body in his arms. They break the kiss and she holds onto him, looking into his eyes as he looks at her. "Qrow...promise me...that you will look after them both. Raven can't help Yang...I won't be there for Ruby...it will break Tai...be there for them.

Be her father without her ever knowing the truth." She begs him, holding his hand and she puts something in his palm. "Promise me." She begs him with tearful eyes and a broken voice. He smiles and he nods.

"I promise." He says to her, his voice broken as well. She smiles and her breathing slows in his arms. "No...please." He begs her as her eyes slowly and gently close, her head dropping back and her hand falls from his, her body becoming lifeless in his arms.

Qrow screams out in anguish, hugging her body, her head against her shoulder as he holds her, crying out in horror as he holds her body, rocking back and forth as he holds onto her. Unwilling to let go of her. "If there is a god...please...bring her back to me." He cries.

But nothing ever happens.

He stopped believing in gods that day. He clutches onto her, his cheeks wet from tears, but then he looks at what she put in his hand. He opens his hand, revealing the necklace that he wears all the time with the cross attached. It was hers, and he has never stopped wearing it in his whole life.

Promise me.

 

The memory comes to a close and he sees Ruby there, nearly thinking that it was Summer for a moment, and only now are the combination of their genes noticeable. The black and red hair, the silver eyes of her mother, but also the kind and touching side of her father and the strength that he has. She is concerned, holding her Uncle...her father's hand...unknowing of the truth of who he really is to her.

Ruby sits beside him, completely unaware of the memory that he has fallen into, she managed to find them through the chaos and he shudders on the floor but it is starting to wear off. But while Qrow lays there, Fear forms in his eyes, only in his eyes as he walks around them. "You blame yourself for what happened to her, you are the father of the young girl beside you and she never knew?" He scoffs as he walks past them all. "And after all these years, you kept that promise to her...why?" He questions as he slams his Scythe down, stood before Ruby. He looks right at Fear.

"I...keep...my promises." He weakly says, the others look at him, confused at why he said that because they don't see Fear stood there.

"What's he talking about?" Ruby asks.

"I don't know." Winter says.

Fear smirks. "I have never encountered a soul like you." He says with a smirk. "You fight all these years...for her?" He asks.

"Always..." Qrow answers, a tear falls from his eye, and onto the floor. In his own world, he sees the life that they could have lived if not for his cursed semblance, and life where they could have lived happily ever after, they would have been able to raise Ruby instead of placing the burden on Taiyang, and maybe Raven wouldn't have fled the way she did. Her smile beaming towards him as she stands there. She stands before him and the amount of love created from their eye contact makes Fear feel weaker and he turns, walking away from him.

Suddenly his control on him is completely released.

Something changed in the Knight of Fear for a second there, because he didn't let the toxin kill Qrow, he let him go. Because one emotion trumps fear the most.

Love.

 

Guards on the walls of Mistral stand there and their attention turns to the mass of shadows that converge towards them. Fear channels across them, seeing the defences cannot save them now. The Grimm charge at the walls.

And the walls collapse.

As does Mistral.

The Grimm are invading the city in full force.

It is the Fall of Beacon all over again.


	21. The Battle of Mistral - Pt. 1

**Ruby**

Ruby stares down at the ground as she holds Crescent Rose by its stock, pressing the barrel against the ground. She has been waiting for everyone to come together so then they can prepare to save the people of Mistral. Luckily Ruby has a plan, and that plan is all they need to get through this. Her round silver eyes turn when she hears Jaune approaching with Ren and Nora, and a scared and injured Thara Nikos at his side.

Ruby stands up and approaches, as Yang walks over as well with Ember Celica activated and at the ready. “Jaune...are you okay?” Ruby asks as she approaches him, holding her weapon in one hand. Jaune looks at Ruby and there is the look of awe on his face, an expression they all seem to share right now. Hearing the constant roars and screams of the monsters that surround them. The poor civilians that have not been able to get to safety in the attack, countless soldiers being ripped apart by monsters that roam the streets.

Jaune exhales as he looks at his hand, still covered in the man blood that he accidentally killed. “It’s bad...I just managed to get Pyrrha’s mom out of her home – before the citizens burned it down.” Jaune explains, sounding shocked and also heartbroken as well.

“But the people are calming down now...what the hell could have happened here?” Nora questions with confusion, and that is when an exhausted yet recovered Qrow Branwen enters the conversation with his sword in his hand.

“Fury – he’s using his presence to make the people go crazy with rage. But now that the anger has been used to draw in the Grimm, he has ceased it.” Qrow explains as he looks at the tired civilians on the ground, palms pressed to their heads.

“We need to get these people out of here.” Ruby states as she stares at the many Nevermores and Griffins that circle the many areas of the gigantic city. She ponders and ponders...

She wants to save everyone in the city, but the concentration of Grimm is so high and the city is so vast that they will never be able to save them all. Hundreds have already been killed by these monsters that have broken through the walls thanks to Lionheart’s Betrayal. “How? The city is too large.” Weiss points out.

“Then we save as many as we can.” Ruby states, turning to them all.

The Huntsmen and Huntresses all come together to discuss their plan to save as many of the Mistraalians in the city of Mistral as they possibly can. Sun and Scarlet and Neptune are utterly broken at the moment, but still fuelled with rage over the death of their close friend.

The loss of Team A.B.R.N makes things much harder as well, knowing that it is only them who can defend the civilians in here and the few surviving soldiers that are not possessed by Fury's rage cloud that has infecting the populous. But they have numbers and through that they have strength.

Team R.W.B.Y, Team J.N.R, Team S.S.N, Oscar, Qrow, Kassius and Winter are here altogether, standing in the circle with their weapons at the ready. Winter looks around and then at the body of Sage which a tarp has been thrown over his body, along with the bodies of Team A.B.R.N. Ruby exhales, she knows what's at stake, and she knows that they need to get the people out, the Relic is out of their reach, but they still have Ozpin's...so that's something.

Ruby opens the silver plains of her eyes as she looks to them all, holding Crescent Rose in her closed form as she turns to them. "I know that we are all hurt right now...but we have to push on." Ruby explains to them.

Sun and Neptune grit their teeth in anger, because they want to take their anger out on something, and what's better than a horde of Grimm in the city?

"Damn right." Sun snarls. Blake and Weiss look at the men that they love with concern in their eyes; whereas Qrow is still recovering mentally from his encounter with the Knight of Fear. But Winter is fully operational once more, spinning her sword through her fingers and her clothes have been cleaned up and her hair is pearly white. Weiss has her long white hair pulled back into an off-centre bun tail and pinned with an icicle shaped tiara. Just like before, she has kept her Schnee Tiara after all this time, and she looks just like the old Weiss Schnee again, her large blue eyes narrowing when she sees the Grimm attacking the city. Leant against the wall is Pyrrha's mother, still alive but wounded.

"We need to focus on getting the civilians out." Ruby states, looking at Thara Nikos who is holding her stomach, she has bruises and silt on her face from the possessed civilians that burned her beautiful home to the ground, the only memories of her daughter reduced to dust. Jaune nods at Ruby, putting his trust in her as he smiles.

"I will do that." He promises, holding Crocea Mors in his hand.

"I will gladly assist." Ren promises.

"So will I." Nora says. "When the civvies are safe in the woods we will come back, leave some soldiers with them and we will help you finish up here." Nora concludes as she stands there, wielding Magnhild in her hands, the pink dust flowing through the metal weapon. A little smile beams across the Rose's face.

"We will all help gather the people of Mistral to get them out; we can only hope that whatever it was that Fury did to them can fade soon." Blake adds, looking around every time there is an explosion.

“The civilians in the lower district are a lost cause, the soldiers are still holding them off down there as best they can. But they won’t be able to hold them for long.” Qrow warns. Qrow stands back up and his eyes look to the city. The soldiers are all fighting the Grimm as they speak, holding them back for now which is giving them time.

Ruby looks saddened of the cold hard truth that is the fate of the lower class down there. But she knows that he is right, so she forcefully nods her head as she readies her scythe. “We can still save the people up here.” Ruby states.

They all help round up the civilians to get them into an orderly line. Nora busts through a door and she sees a bunch of terrifies teenagers hiding under the table. Nora smirks.

"Hi." She greets.

"You know this might be a one-way trip for some of us?" Ren warns with his arms crossed as he listens to Ruby.

Kassius smirks. "I've got no plans tomorrow night." He says as he flicks Lash Equinox up, his blade emerging from it as he stands there.

"Try and stay alive, but remember, the priority is the people. The Relic is gone, nothing we can do about that, but we can save these people from the Grimm. If we get them in the woods, we can get back to them and find a safe haven somewhere." Ruby explains, ironic considering the circumstances with the word haven. There was nothing safe about it, it was all a trap laid out by the mastermind: Doctor Arthur Watts.

Jaune holds the blade of Crocea Mors in the air to guide the travelling civilians in the direction that they need to go. The soldiers are still holding them back but they are running out of time, the Nevermores are being held back for now, but all it takes is one to get through to mess this all up. Ren presses his hand to the floor, pink waves of energy pulsating across his body as he directs his semblance towards the afraid civilians as a Grimm Beowulf that managed to get past the defences attacks them.

The civilians are shrouded in the grey field, concealing them from the eyes of the Grimm beast. Monstrous growls emerge from its jaws as it looks around. Winter stands on the building, forming one of her Glyphs behind her to launch a dust icicle straight at the beast, hitting it in the head and killing it. The family look at Ren and he smiles. They continue on the path. "Keep the fight between us." She narrates.

Ruby stands at the head of the line with rose petals dancing from her red cape as she walks, the people still twitch from the toxic effect that Fury's gas had on them all. "The Knights of Grimm...Death...he believes that all life belongs to him...maybe he's right." Ruby narrates as they all guide the civilians away from the battle. "But we will have no intention of letting him take our lives. No more people will die today." Ruby says with anger in her voice.

Jaune looks at the Nikos Crown on his heat shield and he presses his forehead against it, he misses her painfully but he knows he must go on. For her. Ren grabs his father's knife, pulling it from the sheath and spinning it through his fingers, the howl of the Nuckelavee still echoes through his memory even after it fell.

Qrow flies across the sky in his Crow form, observing the battle at the fallen walls of Mistral, and it is truly terrible. The amount of dead soldiers there, valiantly sacrificing themselves so then the civilians could live to tell the tale.

Ruby continues to walk...but all halts when a dark shadow passes over the crowd. They all look up when they hear the roar of a Nevermore, banking around as it flies towards them. "Nevermore!" Scarlet calls out, spinning his sword through his fingers as the Nevermore circles them.

It continues to glide across the night sky of Mistral, the black hue of smoke trailing from its black feathered body. The red eyes remain fixed with them as it glides; each brawl sends shivers down their spines. They keep their eyes on it and the civilians start to panic, moving faster and faster because the Nevermore is getting closer to the ground. Yang watches the monster as it flies above their heads, the huge feathers smashing through the wind in the air. “It must have gotten past the defences still operational.” Yang presumes.

But Qrow keeps watching the titan as it flies closer and closer.

Scaring the civilians that they have rounded up.

"Do not panic, that will just get its attention." Ren says.

"Can't you calm them?" Neptune asks him.

"Not this many people." Ren says, their plan is going to come apart if this Nevermore attacks right now, it could kill hundreds of civilians in one attack if it does. But Ruby watches the creature as it glides as she watches carefully...and her eyes widen when she realises as it passes a tree.

The tree dies and crumbles down as it passes by it, and it has no bone crests like they normally do. And before she can say it, Qrow lands, shifting back into human form with his sword in his hand. "It's Death!" Qrow yells.

The Nevermore dives down and starts soaring straight across the city towards them, the beaks open and it roars aggressively at them. The crowd screams in terror as the Nevermore nears, the massive wings blocking the light of the Fractured Moon out from them all as it gets closer and closer. Qrow looks around as he sheathes his sword. "Everyone! Take cover!" Qrow yells.

Qrow connects to Neptune when he sees an abandoned truck in the road. "Neptune!" He calls, and Neptune instantly nods, joining his side as Death gets closer and closer to their position. Qrow and Neptune sprint through the crowd to get to the vehicle, and they both put their hands underneath it to lift it up. Neptune activates his Trident and he uses it to push it upwards to act as a shield against Death in case he attacks them. Jaune's eyes widen in fear.

"No, no, no...move!" He yells in horror when he sees the fatal feathers on the wings of the Nevermore folding out as it gets closer and closer.

"Back up! Back up!" Qrow shouts to the cowering civilians.

Death's Nevermore Form bellows extremely loudly and it starts spinning round in a corkscrew attack, throwing massive spear-like feathers across the street, stabbing into buildings. "Incoming!" He yells. Three of them are thrown straight into the truck, stabbing straight through, launching both Huntsmen across the street and into the ground. Neptune crashes down as a feather hits the building above him, tearing the floor apart, and sending debris plummeting down towards him.

He yells as it falls onto him, burying him in it. The feathers crash into the ground, knocking everyone on the floor, even killing a few civilians, one of them has been completely impaled by the feather, blood everywhere...Ruby stammers in horror at what has just transpired, their plan has completely fallen apart from the one attack that Death has thrown upon them.

Bad Luck Charm...

Blake groans in pain, grime and lint covering her face as she lies there, a couple of cuts and bruises but her Aura repairs the damage as she lays there. Her large cat-like amber eyes focus on Sun beside her who turns to her and he reaches his hand over to her through the crumbling rubble that has just been fallen around them. The constant screams of the terrified civilians is muffled from the shell-shock that is pulsating in their heads. Sun holds her hand affectionately and she smiles as she looks at him, personally happy to see the Monkey Man is okay.

Sun looks through the cloud of dust that has been formed from his attack, seeing the dead and injured civilians on the road. It was all going according to plan...and Death completely ruined it. Weiss looks around for Neptune, concerned for his safety. "Neptune?" She cries out. She then sees where he is and horror passes over her. He is crawling from the rubble that collapsed on him and his aura has been completely depleted, the blue flicker across his body revealing his weakness.

Blood leaks from many wounds across his body and as he drags himself out, shuddering and grunting in agony, his legs have suffered major lacerations, rendering his legs useless as he cannot stand up. Qrow gets back to his feet, looking across the way to see the crippled Neptune as he crawls out, being helped out with the help of Weiss and Sun. Weiss wraps her hands around him, his trousers tearing as she pulls him out from the concrete chunks that hit him. He screams in agony and she whimpers. "Oh my god...Neptune...your legs!" She weeps as she holds him gently.

She looks at the wounds and they are seriously bad, deep wounds with blood practically pouring out. The bone in his legs can be seen at some points of his wounds, but she only looks at his cut and bruised face. "You're okay...it's fine..." Weiss assures for him, despite that they both know that it is not the case, and he cannot stand up with his legs being in that condition. She holds him by his face and Sun stands there, looking at his best friend in complete agony, hyperventilating from the super-heated suffering in him right now and the tears gushing from his squinting eyes.

"Not again..." Sun stammers. Blake holds his hand as they look at Neptune as Weiss holds the boy she loves with all her heart and Winter reaches out to her, seeing the blood and silt in his blue hair, he has also suffered a concussion by the looks of it as well.

But then...

Scarlet turns round with widened eyes as he hears a devilish roar of a monster that comes towards them. A colossal fire embraced Wyvern glides towards the street that they have been attacked on, and the huge body erupts into a blast of flames. The roar fades away and into the voice of Fury. The massive molten pumice and obsidian constructed Knight slams down to the ground with his superheated fist pounding into the ground with all his might. There is an almighty boom with a shockwave of flames that chars the cars around him. He rises back up, his gritted jagged and molten teeth releasing an intimidating snarl as he walks towards them.

He grabs the truck and he launches it out of his way with all his might, and the flames burn through the metal and other components inside of the vehicle. The car completely disintegrates away into ashes as he approaches them.

Fire ignites in the palm of his hand, forming a fireball that he throws straight at them like a grenade, exploding upon contact with anything it touches. His jaws stretch down as he bawls at them, smoke and cinders trail from the beast's mouth. Sun grits his teeth, spinning Ruyi Jingu Bang through his fingers as he runs towards him with Blake, both out for vengeance against this Knight of Grimm. Scarlet runs with them with his sword and Flintlock Pistol in hand.

Weiss holds Neptune's hand as she looks at him, putting Myrtenaster down by her feet, looking into his blue eyes as he laments in pain from his injuries. "I'm not leaving you." Weiss says to him, warmly holding him. But Neptune weakly grasps Myrtenaster by the hilt with his bloodied hand, placing it into hers with a smile.

"You...have...to...fight." He weakly states, blood leaking from his lips as he looks right back into her eyes. She sniffles as she looks at him, and he caresses her cheek with his hand, then she sees his other hand picking up his rifle. “Kick their asses.” He says with a smirk, despite being in so much pain. He nods to her and loads a new dust magazine into the rifle as he sits upright against the fountain he is resting against.

Weiss stands up and she closes her eyes with a sigh, knowing he is right.

Yang and Kassius both charge towards Fury as he stands there, forming fireballs in his palms that he launches directly at them. Yang rolls underneath the flaming sphere that explodes against a building above her, sending burning rubble crashing down into the street where civilians flee out of terror to find the best locations of cover that they possibly can. But Kassius fires Vulcan Nox at Fury and the bullet scrapes across the side of his head, embers and thick black smoke leaking from the wound.

He forms another and he catapults it towards her with all his strength channelled into his arm, throwing it straight at both of them. Kassius rolls aside and Scarlet slides across the road, firing his Flintlock Pistol quickly before he launches his grappling hook to a portion of a damaged building. He swings round and he throws himself towards Fury, kicking him in the side of the head with both feet. “Take that, prick!” Scarlet yells, landing down with a precise roll that takes the remaining energy and blows it away. He instantly spins round and slashes his cutlass across the kneecap of Fury, the huge burning Knight grunts with anger and he immediately turns round to smash the blade of his axe at him.

Scarlet jumps back, just missing the axe head that came crashing down at his feet, which would have been his head if he hadn’t moved in the first place. Sun immediately sprints towards Fury, jumping and he smashes his bo-staff across the face of Fury, making him stagger and as he lands he fires his gun-chuck at him multiple times. He spins the many small shotguns attached to chains round with impressive speed and skill, firing them every single time and throwing shell casings across the tarmac. Every single shot delivers deep shrapnel wounds into Fury’s armour, and he grunts every single time.

Until Fury catches Sun’s wrist and he lifts him off the ground to punch him straight in the side of the head with force. Sun grunts, bouncing on the floor from the impact he makes as he falls, and Fury goes to smash the axe against his body.

Until Blake wraps her grappling hook around his wrist to keep him from doing so. Fury's eyes of fire twitch uncontrollably as he stands there. He turns and sees Kassius running right at him. Fury growls in anger. "Die!" Fury bellows, launching a fireball right at him. He also twists his wrist round as he grabs the cable of Blake’s grappling hook and he pulls the much lighter girl off the ground and he swings her like a flail into Yang. They both yelp and grunt as they collide, falling to the ground.

Kassius rolls out of the way of the fireball that explodes not far from him, then he fires both Vulcan Nox bracers downwards into the ground. Using the recoil, he flies up over them in the air and he aims both of Vulcan Nox at Fury, launching rounds straight at him, firing both once before he lands onto the floor with a grunt. The two rounds impact his chest, making Fury stagger back from the impact. Yang slides across the road and she fires Ember Celica right at him, firing rockets into his chest, further making him recoil from the firepower being thrown upon him.

Fury roars in rage as he staggers, the demonic bellows echoing across the street, people flee in terror as they see the Huntresses and Huntsmen fight the beast. Blake swings round the corner once more, and she flies right over Fury's head, flipping over and slashing the blade of Gambol Shroud across one of his arms, cutting it clean off and making him roar in agony. His burning hand lands onto the floor with force, scorching the ground and the flames extinguish eventually, leaving a crumbling pumice hand on the road. Nora and Ren both see the battle against Fury and they join in to help.

Blake, Yang and Kassius continuously shoot him with their weapons, each impact makes him stagger slightly which prevents him from going full berserk on them. Ren shoots at him as well, but Nora has a better plan. She runs straight at him with Magnhild, laughing maniacally as she brings the hammer upwards with force, smashing the head of the hammer right against his head. Fury creates a deafeningly loud outcry from the impact, being launched into a back-flip and smashing his head into the ground.

He is riddled in bullet holes and the flames begin to go out around his body as he lays there.

Scarlet and Sun stand there with their weapons ready to fight, since they can hear a massive crash behind where Fury landed.

A swarm of Grimm come charging towards them, of all kinds as well from Beowulves to Creeps and even some Deathstalkers are here as well. The gigantic Scorpion roars and it slams its huge pincers against the ground over and over again, acting as territorial as ever. It’s gigantic tail and glowing yellow stinger rises over its head as it stands there, walking across the street to attack.

Kassius cracks his neck with a scowl.

“Here we go.” Kassius says.

They all run to the Grimm, fighting desperately to keep the monsters back.

But where Fury fell...

His hand twitches as the magma that cooled within him begins to ignite again, and slowly clenches into a fist. And the wounds he suffered are slowly repairing themselves with the lava that bleeds out of them.

Fury is not dead yet.

 

On the other side of the battle,

Ruby zooms across the street, slashing her scythe aggressively at the Beowulves and Creepers that are showing up to attack the civilians in the area, beheading them and cutting them into little pieces as she darts across them. Jaune stands there, blocking the attack from an Ursa with his shield and he remembers everything that Pyrrha taught him. He swings the upgraded Crocea Mors up the black furry chest of the bear, carving the blade straight through the flesh, revealing the glowing red internals. He finally swings Crocea across the neck of the beast, beheading it like he did to the Ursa back in Forever Fall.

The Ursa collapses and he sighs with relief. "Hey, did ya see that?" He asks Ruby. But he is completely shown up as he sees Qrow jumping down and swinging his sword across an entire pack of Beowulves, wiping them out and blocking every attack from the beasts that attack him, jumping in the air to not get slashed by the claws of an Alpha. Winter also fights with him, this time they are on the same side instead of fighting each other on the Beacon Courtyard.

She forms her Summoned Beowulf and points at the Grimm with her sword. The Beowulf howls, sprinting directly at them and attacking them, cutting them down like an Alpha would. She spins round and she takes the smaller blade from her main sword, leaping at the Alpha that is fighting Qrow and she stabs both blades into it and forms a Glyph underneath it. She kicks against it, creating a pulse that sends only her body up that cuts the Grimm clean in half.

Qrow stands ready, his sword held out to launch Winter towards a Griffon that has arrived at the battle. She drives the blade of her sword straight into the stomach of the beast, pulling it down onto the ground. She lands gracefully, perfect form as she stands there, looking at the dead Griffon behind her and then at the stunned Jaune Arc stood there. He then sighs, seeing his moment of triumph stolen by two awesome warriors. But the jokes end when the massive Nevermore returns, diving into the city and the form shifts again in black smoke.

The wings fold into his cape and the Nevermore's body shrinks down into the form of the knight. The wings drag across the buildings to slow his descent, tearing the walls down, crumbling down entire walls of brick and ripping catwalks from houses. He lands down as the rubble crashes around him, the face plates not yet closed, showing the mad burning skull inside. "Perniciem!" He snarls as he lands, speaking ancient tongue as he stands there, the Nevermore Wings retracting into the black cape's form.

Death stands tall, the darkness of the Grimm leaking from the armour plating that makes his body up, the red light bleeding from his eyes as he walks. He creates a deep snarl as he walks through the alleyway, his sword in his hand. Ren backs up when he sees him emerging from the shadows.

"It's Death! Run!" Ren yells.

Scarlet turns around when he sees the monster stepping out from the building, the red eyes fixing with his. Scarlet aims his Flintlock Pistol right at him and pulls the trigger as he stands there, The bullet hardly even scratches the armour, just makes a spark upon contact. Scarlet swings his sword right at Death to fight him, but he is no match. Death catches Scarlet's hand, breaking it and crushing the hilt of his sword from the strength of his metal hand. Scarlet cries out in agony as Death lifts him off the floor.

Sun looks right at Scarlet, his eyes widening with horror.

"Scarlet!" He yells in fear, terrified of losing another friend – another member of his team. Death looks right at Sun. Death creates a deep snarl and he goes to skewer Scarlet with his blade, but Winter throws herself at Death, using her Glyph to zoom towards him. The huge Knight is thrown from Scarlet, and he luckily drops him instead of carrying the Pirate Huntsman with him.

Scarlet falls onto the floor and he groans in agony, looking at his broken hand and shattered sword on the floor. Winter spins her sword through her fingers and she slams the blade of her sword into the floor, forming a glyph underneath herself. The glyph forms a swarm of tiny Nevermores that start to attack Death rapidly.

"Just get him to safety!" Winter yells as she keeps Death back as best as she can. Sun reaches out to him to get him out of there, helping him back up. Death spreads his massive wings out, tearing the entire floor down and he steps out from the building, his red eyes glaring into her blue ones. Winter stares straight at him. "I heard the stories...but I never believed they were true." Winter states as she looks at the Knight as he emerges. Death's wings spread outwards like the Angel of Death.

"And what do you know?" He asks, with a sinisterly deep and demonic voice. But Winter smirks, an expression he really did not expect to see.

"I don't care, I only want to know if can kill you." Winter says. Death chuckles menacingly.

"Why don't we find out?" Death asks, launching straight at her with his sword held tight.

Sun and Blake help carry Scarlet to safety, safety is ironically where Neptune and Weiss are, along with Oscar who is helping with the wounds that Neptune has suffered. Neptune is on the back of a truck and Oscar patches up his wounds with the things that they have found.

Blake and Sun help get Scarlet on there as well and Neptune looks at his hand and the pained expression on his face, they are both in agony. "I need to help the others." Sun says to Scarlet and he nods. Sun turns around and approaches Jaune who looks down the battlefield with disbelief in his eyes. "What is it?" Sun asks.

Kassius sprints towards the Deathstalker and he jumps to the building, pressing his feet against it as he jumps towards the huge Scorpion. He stabs the swords into the tail and he forces downwards with all his might. The huge stinger plunges straight into the top of the creature’s skull, killing it instantly. Kassius pulls his swords from the head of the monster and he sees what Jaune can see.

As Kassius retreats back to the others, Jaune says what is on his mind. "Sun...Fury's getting back up." Jaune says to him. Sun looks in the direction he is looking and fear pulsates into his body. Fury rises back up, the wounds he suffered repair themselves with the fire that begins to ignite across his body, the magma glowing brighter as he stands up. An infernal blast of fire erupts in his hand, forming the two Axes that he carries and he snarls in rage. His burning cape blows in the wind as he stares at them, smashing a Creep out of his way with his wrist.

“These guys don’t give up, do they?” Sun questions, in awe and sounding hopeless – because they have never faced an enemy that refuses to fall as much as the Knights of Grimm.

Ruby drives Crescent Rose into the chest of a Boarbatusk that she managed to take down but her attention turns when she hears something landing on Haven itself, standing tall and roaring demonically as he stands there, laughing and causing their hairs to stand on end. His Bat Wings spread out wide, the holes in the membranes showing the starts through them. "You've gotta be kidding me..." Sun stammers.

Loss is here as well, emerging from the fallen walls, aiming her bow at one of the fleeing civilians who is heading down the path that they were heading beforehand. The arrow sinks into his spine and he collapses, killed from the attack. Loss lowers the bow, her face concealed by the black veil, only her glowing blue eyes can be seen through it. But from what they can tell from her glowing blue eyes, they seem to be grief stricken for killing the civilian.

Then Qrow sees that Loss and Fear are headed towards the civilians who are fleeing to the forest as planned. Luckily they informed them to head in that direction if the Grimm broke through. And the two Knights are bringing Grimm that way as well, it will be an absolute slaughter. “The civilians...” Qrow stammers with widened eyes.

Oscar stands with them, he has been fighting quite well despite having his training still unfinished. He jumps onto the back of one of the Creeps and he stabs the cane down into the back of its skull with all his strength. The creature roars with pain and he rolls off it. “We can’t let those civilians get hurt.” Qrow states.

“I can help them!” Oscar states, eager to help out in any way he possibly can.

“You won’t be able to take them down yourself.” Qrow states, not trying to claim he is a weak fighter but more that nobody here can take on both Fear and Loss on their own. Even facing Fear on your own is pretty outmatched for the Huntsman.

“I’ll help him.” Kassius volunteers, and Yang looks at him with a worried expression on her face.

“You can count me in too.” Sun assures, and a similar face comes from Blake. Qrow looks extremely concerned too, as he looks at the younger boy who stands there with Ozpin’s cane in his hand. He knows that it is risky to send him out there, but he desperately wants to prove himself.

“You don’t have to do this – you don’t have to prove anything.” Ozpin assures as he crouches down, and Oscar sighs, looking at him.

“I know – but I want to. It is our duty to protect people, and I can’t stand by as those people get slaughtered.” Oscar states.

Qrow sighs, because he cannot stop admiring his bravery, so he puts on a smile and pats his black haired head. “Alright...try and keep the Knights off them whilst we hold the rest off.” Qrow agrees, against his own better judgement.

Kassius turns to Oscar and the hazel eyed boy looks up at him. “We’ve got your back, Oscar.” Kassius assures with a smile on his face.

Oscar exhales with a shaky voice. “Okay...” He agrees with quivering hands – he may be brave but only a lunatic would be completely unafraid of heading into a battle quite like this. Sun smiles with Ruyi Jingu Bang in his arms.

Yang walks over to Kassius, her hand clutching to his and she smiles at him.

"Come back to me." She begs. Kassius smirks at her, and he gently moves his hand across her cheek and through her blonde hair, around the back of her head as he gently holds her.

"Come here." He says.

She wraps her arms round him, kissing him right on the lips, they both close their eyes as they share this little moment together. In the background, Death throws Winter straight through the building and he transforms into Nevermore form, flying around with a roar, but the two of them break their kiss gently, pressing their foreheads together as she holds him. Kassius smiles. "I'll always come back for you." He promises cockily, stepping away from Yang. The blonde huntress exhales, smiling as she has finally had her moment with him, she thrusts her fists down to activate Ember Celica in combat. Kassius looks down the path, it is clear but Loss is down one of the paths and she will be a problem. Oscar starts to walk forward and Sun goes with him.

Blake closes her eyes, and now she knows what she wants. "Sun!" She calls, making him stop to turn to the black haired Faunus Girl. Blake holds onto his white shirt collars gently, looking up in his eyes. Sun looks into her eyes as well, as this will be the perfect moment. "No matter what...I will never regret seeing you on that boat with me." Blake reveals. She and him share a long and devoted kiss with each other, her cat ears gently curve down affectionately as she holds him and he pushes his hand through her hair, his other round her waist. He nearly lifts her off the floor as he holds her. They break the kiss and they look longingly at each other's eyes.

"You have no idea of how long I've wanted to do that." Sun confesses which makes her blush a giggle nervously. Oscar smiles as he stands there, but Kassius stands there and he knows that they need to get him and Ozpin to safety.

“Oscar! Let’s get moving!” Kassius shouts to get his attention.

He thrusts his fists downwards, engaging Vulcan Nox to activate and he wields both Lash Equinox Swords in his hands. Blake and Sun still hold each other's hands but they step away from one another, their hands part and they turn away from each other. Blake draws Gambol Shroud and she returns to combat mode, joining in with Yang as she runs at Fury. Sun runs over to Oscar as well.

"Move!" Sun pushes. The three of them start running down the street as fast as they can to get to the forest, Loss turning to glare at them. Back at the main battle, Fury stands there and he roars in rage, throwing a fireball straight at Team Bumblebee.

Oscar sprints at full speed, holding the cane in his hand, not looking back as Loss launches arrow after arrow at his two Guardians who are keeping him safe. A Beowulf lunges at Oscar but he smashes the rounded head of the cane right across its skull, killing it instantly. He ducks down as a Creep jumps at him, straight into Ruyi Jingu Bang that Sun clatters against its hard headed skull.

"Cover fire!" Kassius calls out, firing his weapons back at Loss who moves around swiftly across the street from them. The arrows dart straight past them as they move aside. Sun holds both Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang, firing them both back at her as well, crouching down behind a torn up piece of road that Oscar runs past, his eyes widen as an arrow narrowly misses him from her Bow. Kassius rolls backwards to stay nearly to Oscar as he runs, firing Vulcan Nox every now and then.

Oscar looks back but when he looks forward, the Nevermore glides round the corner, dragging his claws into the building to turn sharply and transforms back into his Knight form, the wings folding away into his cape. The black blade charges black lightning across the blade. "Look out!" Kassius warns, running up to a parked car and he lifts it up with his cybernetic arm to shield Oscar from the attack that Death is about to fire. The black lightning blasts straight into the car, blowing it apart and throwing Kassius back from the explosion, causing Oscar to stumble as he runs past Kassius.

The wings of the Nevermore emerge from Death's back and he leaps forward. The black smoke forms around his body and he morphs into the Nevermore, gliding straight over Oscar's head, the down-draft of the wings nearly makes him fall over. The Nevermore lunges his talons at Oscar as he runs and just misses as the Nevermore flies over his head.

They need to get to the civilians before the Knights and the Grimm kill them.

 

Fury grabs Yang and throws her straight into a truck, laughing with rage. The Nevermore of Death flies over Fury and drags his claws into Haven Academy's roof, transforming back into the form of Death who looks down on the battlefield. But when he stands there, Qrow's eyes focus on him, and the hate he has for the Knight fills him with rage.

What Death took from him...

He grits his teeth and he engaged the sword to transform into Scythe Mode. The cogs in the blade start to click and rotate round, the blade extends and the handle does as well. The blade curves and arches down, the light from the moon shines upon it and he slams it down into the ground behind him, staring straight at Death.

"Death!" Qrow yells. Death turns round and locks eye contact with Qrow.

"Corvus!" Death roars back. He leaps off the roof of Haven, transforming into Nevermore Form once more, soaring straight at him, roaring monstrously. Qrow runs at him and leaps right at him with the Scythe held back to dig into the body of the beast.

Qrow yells in rage, slamming it into the body of the Nevermore.

Qrow is ready for Round Two.


	22. The Battle of Mistral - Pt. 2

**Qrow**

His scythe digs through the black feathers of the Nevermore and he yells, his arms nearly ripped from their sockets as he is yanked from the collapsing ground from the warzone. Qrow roars in anger, holding onto the murderer of his beloved, the one he never realised was the Knight of Death at the time...just another Creature of Grimm at the time.

The Nevermore flaps its Lancaster Bomber sized wings with force, crushing buildings down as he flies. Death slashes his sword like talons at Qrow and he yells in anger. Qrow pulls down with his Scythe, all of his might being yanked into the handle of his Scythe, dragging the titan down with him. The Nevermore screeches, dropping down from the sky and crashing straight into the town beneath them.

Qrow rips the curved blade of his scythe clean from the gut of the Grimm, landing on his two feet. His Scythe transforms back into the huge sword that he carries and fights most often with. The Nevermore smashes straight through an entire street, the huge wings slicing through and toppling whole houses onto the ground. Black smoke erupts from the dark feathers of the enormous beast as it scrapes along the ground.

The body shrinks down, the bones crunching and feathers falling from the body as it morphs into the Knight of Death. Death drags the blade of his sword into the floor, the grassy decorative floor around him rotting away into dead blades of grass. His blood red eyes focus on the Huntsman who stands there. "After all of these years...it was you." Qrow snarls, staring right at Death. Death rises, spinning his sword through his fingers as he stands there.

"The Summer Rose...You and she were joined..." Death chuckles menacingly and sadistically, if he had a face he would be smirking right now. Qrow grits his teeth, scowling straight at the Knight as he glares at him. He tightens his grip on his sword as he stands there. Death looks right at him, emotionlessly staring amidst the chaos. "You cannot stop extinction, Corvus." He says, calling him by an ancient translation of the word crow which sounds like an insult as well, since he refers to him as an animal, not as a human being. Qrow lifts the blade of his sword up, staring straight into the burning red eyes of the Knight of Death, anger in his red eyes.

"My...name...is Qrow Branwen." Qrow growls. "You took Summer from her daughter...her stepdaughter, from her best friend...from me. I may not have known you were real at first...but I don't care about what the stories say." Qrow explains with animosity in his voice, still pointing his sword at Death across the road from him, Qrow's red cape blowing in the wind and Death's black one also blows as they have their standoff. "I will kill you for what you did." Qrow promises. Death chuckles menacingly, his wings spreading from his wings as he glares at the Branwen.

"Come then...Qrow Branwen..." Death snarls, holding his sword back to fight, armoured boot a step forward and his other hand clenched into a fist. "...have your resolution." He challenges coldly.

Qrow and Death glare at each other, both exceptionally skilled warriors, knowing that one of them must strike first to begin this fight. Qrow and him begin to circle one another as they walk; Death has precise footwork, as does Qrow. Thousands of years of combat have lead to this moment. Qrow and Death approach each other slowly and they both begin their bout. Death swings the blade of his Black Blade straight at Qrow and the Huntsman brings his sword directly up, creating a loud clang upon impact.

Death holds his sword, named Ferrum Arctus, the Sword of the Night. Qrow slashes the blade of his sword straight at Death, causing him to immediately counter it, lifting the blade coated in shadows upwards to deflect his attack, kicking him in his knee. Qrow grunts in pain but he immediately spins the sword across his feet. Death jumps up to avoid it, giving Qrow the time to avoid Ferrum Arctus as he drives it into the floor. Death bellows with animalistic rage, using the forces of nature itself to smash his sword into the ground, cracking the floor with force like an Earthquake is attacking the ground.

The Knight kicks Qrow straight in the chest, knocking him back on the ground and he throws Ferrum Arctus in the air, catching it by the hilt, pointing the sharp serrated edge down at him. Qrow rolls aside as Death stabs at the ground to kill him, but Qrow keeps on rolling and crawling back. The blade makes deathly bangs, smashing and penetrating through the tarmac with force, cracks spreading across the ground like ice being forced down.

Qrow performs a graceful back-flip, kicking the Knight up the chin, making him grunt as he staggers back. Qrow lands on both feet, turning to look at his sword on the ground. Qrow runs to the sword, grabbing it and now he has the upper hand, slashing the blade horizontally at Death, cutting across the armoured body, black smoke erupting from the wound. Death staggers back and he snarls in displeasure. Qrow immediately slides the blade right up Death's chest, but as always, every wound placed upon him is repaired immediately from his regeneration abilities.

Qrow presses the button that allows the cogs to gear into motion, making the blade fold down, the shotgun inside pointed right at the Shadow Knight. He launches a shell straight into his chest; the explosive round creates a powerful blast that sends him flying across the road, smashing straight through a parked car.

Death spreads his wings out as he lands, his feet dig into the road, tearing up the tarmac as the metal boots push further in the ground. He clenches his gauntleted fist tight, still staring at Qrow. He swings his wings to launch himself at the Huntsman. He ducks down and his semblance is finally helping him as a Fire Hydrant detonates when he flies towards him. The jet of water knocks him out of the air and now he falls towards Qrow.

Qrow pushes his sword upwards as Death falls at him and Death's wing meets the blade. The blade carves straight through, the feathers tearing and ripping as the huge sword slices straight through, the black smoke like blood as it pours from its lesion. Death crashes into the ground, covered in Hydrant Water. He pushes his sword into the ground and he looks up at Qrow.

The plates of metal covering the skull quiver slightly as he stands there, revealing some kind of weakness. He is unstable for some reason; the floating plates of metal that make up his body are quivering slightly. And then he looks at the lamppost that is flickering from the damage it has suffered. The light is shining upon him and as it does, the armour quivers, showing a weakness in him.

That's when it all comes together...

Death was weaker in the fight with Summer and him because it was during the day, and when they were fighting, Qrow saw a weakness in his back where the metal plates quivered exactly as they do here...And when he was destroyed when he and his sister fought him, it was by Summer unleashing a bright light upon him which destroyed him, and it was night time when they fought him as well.

His weakness is light itself, he is made up of darkness. Qrow looks at the light and then at Death, seeing him step out of it and back into the shadow of the night, the red eyes glowing brightly. "That's interesting." Qrow chuckles with a smirk.

"What did you say?" Death snarls demonically, his eyes glowing brighter with fire erupting through the gaps of the armour, showing that he does have rage like Fury, but he can control it, it is not constant like it is for him. Qrow smirks.

"Bad luck." He says, launching himself straight at Death, kicking him in the side of the head and back into the light. Death growls and the armour quivers, the shadows recede and Qrow begins his attacks, slashing at him over and over again as he stands in that light. Death blocks some attacks with his sword but Qrow slices across his chest plate. The blade cuts deep, and now darkness spills from the wound, at least while he is in the light.

Qrow continues to slash his sword at Death, carving the blade across the armour, golden sparks erupt upon impact, causing Death to grunt in anger form every attack. Death batters his blade against Qrow's, causing the huntsman to stagger slightly. Death continues to attack Qrow, swiftly swinging his sword at him, the huge blade slicing through cars as he walks towards him. Death scoops his hand underneath one of the cars and he lifts it up with ease. Death vociferates with vigour as he launches the car straight at Qrow. Qrow's eyes widen and he rolls out of the way, the heavy car crashes straight down into the floor with force, making the ground shake upon impact.

Pieces of metal snap and slide away from the impact radius, making Qrow place his hand on the floor. The bang from the crash landing of the car echoes through the street, Death stands tall, he has marks formed on his armour but he has stepped back in the shadows, darkness has regenerated his wounds. He is strongest in the dark, whilst in the light he is weak. His wings rise up from where they were, the darkness repairing the damage done to his wing. The feathers flex out and he stands tall.

Death throws himself high in the air, spinning round and throwing the fatal feathers down at Qrow. Qrow cartwheels backwards to dodge the spear like feathers as they plummet from the Fractured Moon that hangs in the sky. Qrow stands tall and one more comes flying towards him. Qrow catches his sword, bringing it forward with full force behind it, the blade carves straight through the feather, slicing it in half and causing the feather to fly right past him and smash straight into the building behind him. The imposing warrior smirks at Death the Knight lands before him. "Impressive." He admits to him, genuinely sounding impressed by him. "You actually put up a fight." He says.

But Qrow stops taunting Death with his smile, seeing the monster that took the love of his life away from him. Qrow stands ready, staring straight at Death. "I will kill that Silver Eyed girl." Death promises.

"You took her mom; you will not take her as well. If you want her...you're gonna have to kill me as well." Qrow states, staring straight at the unending Grimm. Death points his sword to him as an honourable knight should, waiting for the fight to continue, that is what he does, and he wants a fight.

"Do you truly believe you can survive this?" Death scoffs as he looks at him.

"I know we can." Qrow snarls. Death chuckles, tipping his head back.

"Throughout the thousand years of my existence...all you Humans and Faunus are the same. You all think that you are the pinnacle of evolution, that your time has no limit, and that you can live forever!" Death scoffs. But then he just stands there, holding his sword forward. "The Dinosaurs thought so, too." He says coldly, creating one chilling picture for Qrow, as he is right.

Nothing lasts forever.

"It doesn't mean we can't die trying." Qrow snarls. Death chuckles.

"Dying...is the whole point." He says. Death launches straight at Qrow, detonating the ground under his heavy boots, leaving a pair of craters in the tarmac. Qrow readies his sword and he jumps at Death as well, the two soar towards one another, continuing the fight.

 

**Blake**

Blake holds Gambol Shroud tight, pacing through the destroyed streets, and she sees her target. Vengeance flowing in her veins. Fury stands there, grabbing Yang by the throat and lifting her off the floor. Yang struggles, her aura being worn down by the flames on the monster's hands. The burning eyes glare straight at her, lava dripping from his jaws. Blake spins her sword through her fingers, staring at the monster that holds her best friend up by the throat, starting to actually burn her neck.

She clenches her hand into a fist. "Fury!" She yells at the top of her lungs. Fury stops, looking over his shoulder at her and a smirk forms on his face when he sees her, his eye still twitching from his uncontrollable anger.

"Belladonna..." He snarls.

He throws Yang aside, dropping her onto the floor, Yang coughs, catching her breath back. Fury drops his flaming tomahawks because he wants a good fight with her. Blake scowls at him, seeing the monster that murdered her parents right in front of her. She walks past the cars and Fury growls with a mad smirk. That smirk fades as the glowing red teeth of molten rock grit together and his eyes scrunch up as he barks in anger, accelerating into a jog and then into a full sprint as he charges like a Berserker at her.

He punches entire cars out of his way, engulfing them in fire, the ignition reduces them to dust and whatever was inside of them, embers floating away in the wind. Blake starts to run at him as well, that anger fuelling her as well. She vaults over the bonnets of cars to go after Fury and she jumps off the bonnet of a car, arising to jump at him with Gambol Shroud firmly in her hand, fire in her eyes.

Fury's flaming cape transforms into the huge burning wings of the Wyvern form that he can transform into. He swings his wings downwards, the thrust shatters the tarmac under his superheated body and he soars into the air, towards the young Faunus Girl.

He is so much bigger and stronger than her, he grabs her and she yelps, grabbing a hold of her as they both plummet into the abandoned cars beneath them. Fury smashes into a car, flattening it upon impact and he throws Blake across the street. She crashes into the road and tumbles, Gambol Shroud sliding out from her reach across the round. The ground cracks upon impact and Fury stands across the street from her, pressing his magma filled foot down on one of the roofs of the cars, the heat melts the metal and he pushes it down, staring at the dizzy girl as she stumbles around after doing many flips through the air from when she was thrown.

Her cat ears scrunch down when she stares at Fury, flashes of her parents being killed by him over and over again in her eyes. Fury creates an enraged laugh as he scowls at her. "Come on, kitty!" He roars across the street from her. She looks across the road and she sees Gambol Shroud there. She turns and she sees Fury stepping off from the car and he jogs towards her. But before he gets to her, she just stands there. He goes to grab her but she vanishes as his hand swipes through the Shadow Clone of her body.

Confused, he looks around in confusion. Blake shrieks with rage, jumping at Fury, landing on his chest and stabbing him in the chest over and over with Gambol Shroud. Fury grunts and he staggers back. She stabs him over and over again with the blade, cinders and lava bleeds from his wounds but the fire starts to repair them. He then collapses down when she stabs right into his head. She stabs him over and over again with great force, smashing him into the road, creating loud bangs from each impact. The ground cracks from the impacts.

Blake grabs him by his burning face, so much adrenaline in her that she does not even feel the burning that is hurting her as well. She pushes the blade through the side of his head, hoping to kill him. But he chuckles menacingly after she rips it out.

Lava drips from the side of his head, solidifying into obsidian. He glares right into her eyes. "Your mother fought harder than that!" He taunts with an unhallowed bark. Blake's eyes widen in anger and she screeches with vengeance to stab him in the head again, despite the fact that it has not done anything to him. Fury launches his knee up into her chest, partially knocking the wind out of her and actually making her body bounce in the air.

He immediately grabs her by the back of her neck, standing up and he whirls round, hauling her along with him. He howls as he throws her straight into a building. The windows shatter upon impact and the lights inside flicker out as she lands inside. She bounces across the floor inside, coughing in pain. Fury growls and he jogs towards the building, his Wyvern Wings spreading out, launching himself up the side of the building to get to the crater where she was thrown into.

He lands inside the building, looking around with furious eyes. He slowly walks into the apartment, his eyes examining the rooms. The bed has been flipped over from where the wall completely collapsed and he takes every step slowly. The floor begins to set on fire from the steps he takes; the carpet is flammable from the presence of a burning monster like him. He opens his fire coated hands and there is a vortex of fire formed in his palm, shaping into the form of his burning Hatchet.

He catches it; the same occurs with his other hand. He starts going into a frenzy of manic violence, slashing the molten axe blades everywhere, cutting the bed in half, and therefore igniting it. All this to just find Blake. Blake sneaks round him, holding Gambol Shroud close to her body, her feline amber eyes watching him as he walks around, smashing the place up. The fire dances around, consuming the entire room that they are inside of. But when he is not looking, Blake runs at him from behind and she jumps onto his back, pushing the blade of Gambol Shroud into his spine.

He erupts into rage, staggering around, slicing his axes around the room as he tries to find her. She pushes both feet against his back, performing a back-flip. She catches the Magnum attachment of her gun on the Katana. She fires the gun at his back, sending the bullets straight into his spine as she lands on both feet. Fury turns with animalistic furore in his glowing orange eyes, turning round and bringing both axes towards her. She ducks down as they cut clean through the desk beside her and narrowly missing her long black hair. He continues to thrash at her and she jumps onto his forearm as he smashes the axe into the ground, causing the floor to ripple and buckle upon impact. She runs up his arm and she slashes her sheath across his face and then pulls back on his neck.

Fury roars in anger, but they both unexpectedly feel the floor crumble underneath them. The floor collapses and the two of them plummet into the other floor beneath them. Blake manages to push away from Fury before he crushes her when landing on the ground. He stands back up, setting the whole place on fire as his wings erupt from his back, cutting through the walls as he stands there. He slashes round, the sharp wings act as Katanas, and he nearly cuts the room in half from his aggressive attack that shoots a stream of flames towards Blake. But luckily she ducked down at the perfect possible moment, the bolt of flames burns straight into the wall behind her.

Blake sprints at him as he stands there and she goes to drop kick him, which was a rushed decision made from the environmental effect his presence has on people, making them make hasty decisions. He catches her by her ankle and throws her through the window. The glass shatters and she falls right onto a car. She dents the roof down, shattering the glass on impact. She moans in pain, grabbing her side and feeling blood, only now does she see her purple aura wearing off. It will come back eventually...but she doesn't have eventually.

Fury drops down from the apartment that they were just inside and he tightens his grip on his axe as he approaches her, lifting it up in the air to kill her. "Why don't you join them?" He snarls in aggression.

But to her incredible surprise, a red blade suddenly slashes up the wrist of Fury, cutting his hand clean off and he explodes into agonised rage. He staggers back and stares at who did it.

The man stands tall with his black trench coat and the red rose on his shoulder. He wields Wilt and Blush in his hand and he glares at Fury. Fury stares back at him. Blake's eyes widen...either from shock, confusion or anger. She can't tell, but right now he had just saved her life. Yang runs over and she gasps when she sees Adam stood there, and she has a similar reaction, one of which where she does not know what to do about this. Fury stands there and his hand begins to grow back, fire erupting out from the stump, forming the cracked obsidian hand of Fury, clenching into a tight fist. "Adam?" She questions in utter bewilderment, he was the last person she expected to save her. Yang runs over to Blake, helping her up.

"Traitor..." Fury growls in rage.

"You have been slaughtering my people." Adam growls, pointing the tip of Wilt and Blush straight at Fury, gritting his teeth. "That is not something I am going to let you finish." He snarls. Fury chuckles maniacally.

"Then you can die with them!" He roars in rage. He sprints straight at Adam, slashing one of his Axes at him after forming another in his hand that has just regenerated. Adam steps aside, swinging Wilt and Blush up the back of Fury, making Fury growl in pain and anger, his eyes widening from rage as he staggers forward. Adam looks at them, noticing Ruby and Weiss running over.

In the background, Ren, Jaune and Nora are fighting a bunch of Grimm with Neptune shooting his rifle from where he is laying on the truck, still trying to fight. Winter battles them as well. Fury stares at the four of them and then at Adam.

"We can discuss things later." Adam states.

Yang stares at him in anger, clenching her cybernetic hand into a fist but Ruby grabs her arm. "He can help us take him down, and if he wants to help, we should at least hear him out." Ruby explains. Fury takes a step back, fire erupting across his body, repairing the wounds around his body, returning his form back to full functionality despite the battle that Blake just had with him.

"He took friends from me too." Adam says, clearly referencing her parents and she gets back up, and her aura is starting to regenerate. She picks up Gambol Shroud. In an unexpected turn of events, Adam stands with Team R.W.B.Y to fight Fury. The loss of so many White Fang members has brought something Blake believed to be long gone in the man.

A soul.

 

**Oscar**

The young man sprints with Kassius and Sun; as he ducks down to avoid the slash of a Beowulf’s claws. He immediately spirals round and smashes his cane right across the huge Lycan-Like monster’s face. It staggers back from that impact, thick black smoke flows from the wound it has suffered with an aggressive snarl. He spins the cane round and he stabs it straight through the beast’s ribcage, which finally delivers the killing blow. The Beowulf roars in pain as the cloud of smoke pours like blood from the wound it has suffered.

Oscar turns his head when he hears the terrified screams of the civilians that are under attack from Fear right now. His very presence is enough to poison their minds with nightmares. "Keep moving, Oscar!" Kassius says, bounding over the bonnet of a car as they run with him. Oscar has sweat beading down his face as he runs as fast as he can. "Don't stop!" Kassius shouts when he sees Loss sprinting across the Rooftops to their left, shooting arrows at them every now and then.

The arrows dart past them, slamming into the ground, vibrating erratically as the hit the ground, the Nevermore Feathers that help them travel flutter on the end of it. Loss leaps off the edge of the building, landing down in front of Oscar, cracking the tarmac in front of him, making him stagger but he keeps on running, feeling tears leak from his eyes as he runs past the Knight of Sorrow, despite the fact that he is not scared. Loss grabs her bow, taking it in both hands and pulling it in half.

The Bow is actually a pair of Tonfas connected together that she can use in close-quarters combat. She slashes them straight at Oscar as he runs and Kassius slashes Lash Equinox straight at her. She lifts her bladed Tonfa up, clanging upon impact. She scrapes her blade up, sparks erupting up from the two blades scraping and she kicks Kassius in the chest. Oscar keeps running, looking back as Kassius and Sun fight Loss.

“Get to the civvies!” Sun yells to Oscar as they battle against the Knight of Loss.

Loss ducks back when Sun swings Ruyi Jingu Bang at her in staff form. He flicks it and it comes apart into the Nunchuck form, firing the Shotgun Shells at her. She takes a couple rounds into her back and she spins round, slicing her Tonfas at him, the impact launches Sun backwards, his Aura not yet eviscerated.

She kicks Kassius across the face, knocking his Stetson from his head and he groans in annoyance. "I love that hat!" He yells, firing his Vulcan Nox at her. She slashes the Tonfas across his chest but she retreats, she is more effective at long range than in close quarters combat.

She turns and she warps into the form of the Mourning Dove, flying away from the fight. Sun and Kassius look at each other, and then they realise...she only attacked them to split the three of them up.

It was a trap.

Oscar sprints to where he heard the civilians and he looks around, and his eyes widen with confusion. And then it changes to horror when it hits him...

The civilians...

Are already dead...

The screams they heard were either survivors, or something far more menacing. That is when he hears the screams yet again, as he turns the corner and sees so many dead bodies scattered on the ground. Slashed and carved by the scythe of Formido Falcem, some with Crossbow Bolts lodged into their bodies in places. But there is no sign of Fear, but the sounds of those screams now do not sound natural.

They’re...

Demonic...

Like it is mimicking the sound of their screams. And that is when he hears the chilling laugh of the Knight of Fear that echoes through the air. “Oh dear...looks like you walked right into my trap.” Fear chortles menacingly as Oscar looks around, his hands are shaking with terror with Ozpin’s cane in both his hands.

“What have you done?” Oscar screams with anguish in his voice, never feeling so defeated in his life.

Fear laughs softly, deeply intimidating him. He approaches the edge of the town, the trees of the woods are not very far away from him now. He pants, feeling his lungs on fire as he runs, but he doesn't notice his hairs standing on end from the adrenaline that is pumping through his veins. “I freed these good people from the shackles that bound them to this world – and now I will take that precious little cane in your hands.” He whispers around him, which raises questions for him.

“What could you possibly want with it?” Oscar questions, but Fear chuckles again.

“Seems dear old Oz didn’t tell you, did he? What hides inside that cane?” He asks him curiously.

But before he can continue, Oscar gasps with terror from what flies towards him. Suddenly the massive undead bat form of Fear comes flying through the clouds towards Oscar, shrieking deafeningly loud at him, nearly bursting his eardrums. He huge rotten membrane that comprises his wings wraps around the body and the horrific crunching sound of bones snapping erupts from it. He spins through the air as his beastly bat body mutates, humanoid legs and arms stretching out from where they hid in his form, and his head folds out from between his shoulders and the Bat head splits in two, forming his shoulders with the skull and jaw bones. The wings form the robes that he wears, the poncho of rotten flesh in fact.

The Knight lands right in front of Oscar, scraping across the road, grabbing his hood and pulling it over his head. Carrion flies buzz around his body and he grabs his Scythe in his back, ripping it out and swinging it straight at Oscar with a maniacal laugh. Oscar crawls back in fear as Fear approaches him, his golden eyes glaring down at him.

Out of the blue a bullet clips the side of Fear's face, making him stagger backwards. The Knight barks in anger, turning to see Kassius and Sun returning to help Oscar. "Take cover, Oscar!" Kassius calls, throwing one of his Lash Equinox Blades into Fear's shoulder, piercing straight through the skin robes that he wears. But as he staggers round, he grabs the Crossbow on his back, pointing it at Kassius with one hand, firing the bolt straight at him.

The bolt explodes at his feet, creating a blast of fear gas that throws him into the air. Kassius bounces across the ground and he shudders. Fear grabs Lash Equinox in his arm, throwing it on the floor. Oscar does as he said, hiding underneath a car as he battles Sun and Kassius. Sun smashes Ruyi Jingu Bang across Fear's face, but it has little effect, just making him stagger and he roars in anger, thrusting his skeletal hand forward, unleashing a swarm of flies towards him.

The flies start shredding his Aura down. Kassius tries to fight the hallucinations from the gas by shooting Vulcan Nox at Fear but he launches the flies at him as well. Oscar shakes in fear as Fear stands there. The bat wings suddenly fold out from his spine that can be seen amongst the rotten skin. Fear creates a haunting howl as the black smoke surrounds him as he lifts into the air, transforming back into Bat form, and flying away from the scene. The two collapse, weakened from that one attack that Fear has just placed on them.

Sun groans in pain, blood leaking from his mouth as the flies abandon him. "Oscar...get...get out of here...quick..." Sun begs. Oscar stands there, but he hesitantly leaves them behind, turning and running to the woods as fast as he can.

The very same place they told the civilians to go.

If any of them are still alive.

 

When he runs, he looks at the Fractured Moon, shuddering when he sees the Bat circling back around, the shadowy outline passing across the moon to come back at him, the golden eyes fixed on him.

"Oh no...oh no!" He stammers in fear.

"Keep calm, Oscar." Ozpin advises.

"That's easy for you to say!" Oscar argues as he runs past the trees. The Bat glides towards the woods, the wings smashing some of the trees down as he arrives, transforming back into his Knight form. He lands on the ground, looking around with his glowing gold eyes. He smirks maniacally.

"Ooh...a little game of hide a seek, huh? I like a fun game." He snarls. "Ready or not...here I come." He says, walking around the woods. Oscar hides behind one of the trees and his hairs are still on end as Fear walks around, hunched over and using his Scythe like a walking stick. The sound of the bones moving is horrible, like crunching rocks constantly being scraped across one another from every movement. As Oscar listens, he can hear the faint screams of terror of the souls of those who have been claimed by him under his raspy breath as he walks. "Come now...don't be shy...step into the moonlight." He advises, looking around. He snarls deeply as he walks. He takes his staff and slices a tree clean in half to see if he is there or not. He looks over the stump and finds nothing.

"He's on your left." Ozpin whispers.

Fear stops as Ozpin says that and a smile curves across his face as he slowly turns around. "So Ozpin is definitely alive?" He chuckles. "Good thing we tortured young Cinder as punishment." He says. He can hear the voice of Ozpin in Oscar's head, and it is attracting him to his position.

"He can hear you!" Oscar whispers to himself.

"Indeed I can, and you are very, very noisy." Fear says, slashing another tree down with his scythe, cutting it clean in half. Oscar stays low, terrified of the monstrous Knight. Help come soon, please come help...

Oscar never signed up for any of this to happen. Fear looks around, sniffing the air to try and catch onto his presence. "I can sense your fear, boy." Fear speaks as he walks around, listening to the whistling gales through the hills and trees. Fear looks at four trees in front of him and he places his hand on his putrid chin, scratching it with his long claw like nail. "Eenie, meanie, miney, moe..." He mumbles. "Ah, screw it." He scoffs, slashing with one swing, cutting all four trees down. He is keeping the slashes relatively high to not behead Oscar, for whatever reason, he wants Oscar alive. He groans in annoyance.

Oscar keeps his head down to try and keep out of Fear's view. The Knight stands only a couple feet from him, looking at the trees to try and locate him, but it is likely that he knows exactly where he is. He smirks as he looks to the side with one glance of his eyes. He suddenly points his Crossbow straight at him with one hand. Oscar screams in terror, shielding his face with his hands. "Please no!" He begs. Fear laughs grievously at him as he stands there.

"I don't want to kill you, at least not yet. No...you're gonna come with me." He says. Fear grabs him by the scruff of his neck and he screams in fear. Sun and Kassius have partially shaken the feeling off and they run up the side of the hill, seeing the winged Knight rising off the floor, holding the terrified Oscar Pine by the back of the neck.

"Help me!" Oscar cries out. Kassius aims his Vulcan Nox at Fear as he rises into the sky.

"By the time you fire, I would have moved the boy into the path of your bullet!" Fear shouts from the sky.

"Your bluffing!" Kassius barks back.

Fear smirks. "Suppose I am...take the shot." He challenges as he holds his hand out. Kassius legitimately considers it but Sun stops him, pushing his hand down.

"He's not bluffing." Sun says to him and Fear smirks.

"We will find you! I promise!" Kassius yells. Oscar looks at them helplessly, just as helpless as they are. Fear laughs maniacally.

"No...you won't." He says. Fear transforms into the bat, grabbing him with his torn feet, carrying him away. They watch in horror, unable to save Oscar from the clutches of Fear himself. He flies away from the, carrying the boy and the Cane.

They've failed...

All they can hope for now is that Salem will be merciful.


	23. The Battle of Mistral - Pt. 3

**Ruby**

 

She leaps into the air as Fury uses his massive wings to throw himself into the air. He pulls his massive fire coated arm back, forming a fireball in his palm, throwing it straight behind her. Ruby fires Crescent Rose downwards, using the recoil to shoot her light body into the air to avoid the shell. The fireball explodes into the ground, throwing massive burning chunks of roadwork into the air, the shockwave pushing them back.

As Fury hovers above them, Ruby throws herself straight at him, digging the Scythe into his chest, firing downwards to slam her and the Knight into the ground with force. Fury rolls and tumbles, forming the two axes in his hands, driving them into the tarmac to slow himself down. The tarmac shatters and melts into lava beneath the superheated axe heads that he drags through the ground. Smoke trails from the flames that crackle from the molten rock beneath him.

Ruby lands with the rest of Team R.W.B.Y and Adam stands before them all, Wilt and Blush held in his hand. The tall Taurus Warrior glares directly at Fury, with one hand gripping the scabbard named Blush and the other holding the hilt of Wilt. He shows little to no fear, perfectly calm as he stands before them with steady breath. Blake still cannot believe it; neither can Yang as she feels faint phantom pains in her arm.

Fury erupts in an explosion of anger, charging at the five of them with both burning axes clutched in his hands, his eyes bleeding with fire. The magma inside of his volcanic chassis glows bright red as he smashes the axe straight at Adam. The White Fang Commander ducks down, dodging the attack, his black trench coat blowing in the wind from his strike as he passes by him. He spins round, swiping the red blade of Wilt straight up his back and the Knight immediately turns back around, punching the ground with his axe. The tarmac ripples from his impact and the heat from his hand begins to pass into the tarmac, turning it into liquid tar. Fury smirks at Adam, and the warrior retreats from the melting road before him.

Weiss creates a Glyph underneath her feet, using it is a platform to float across the tar and even freezing it over to stop it from harming her. She zooms towards Fury, causing the Knight to stare straight at her. She cuts across his side with the pointed blade of Myrtenaster. Fury grunts in pain, staggering forward with embers spilling from his wound. But pain just infuriates him further, causing him to thrash his axes around even more.

Unlike Death and the others, he does not have the tactical mind that they have; he is just pure rage, one that just goes all-out to kill someone. But that also means that he is stronger and can withstand more punishment than Fear or Loss. Weiss drifts round to attack again, but the flaming wings of the enraged Knight stretch out from his fire formed cape, and he smashes them straight into Weiss, knocking her off her platform and onto the road. She yelps, bouncing and tumbling across the road. Weiss' attention focuses on the Knight as he sprints straight at her, leaping high in the air with both axes held above his head. His battle-cry echoes for miles. Weiss rolls to her side, grabbing Myrtenaster as he lands right where she laid. Fury smashes the axes straight into the tarmac and he grits his teeth, staring straight at her, almost twitching in anger.

He rips them both from the ground, leaving a pair of fire coated wounds in the tarmac, smoke rising from them. Fury smashes the axes down at Weiss over and over, but she avoids them by crawling or rolling out of the way of them as he repeatedly bashes the ground with them where she was.

Weiss points her sword right at him, creating a Glyph that blocks the axes. He snarls in anger, the ice cold glyph begins to freeze over his burning arms, revealing the pumice underneath the fire and the magma in his wrists has cooled down. Yang takes her chance, sprinting straight at Fury, punching him right into his wrists. Fury roars in pain, staggering back as his arms shatter like glass, fragments of pumice plummeting and exploding as they hit the floor. Yang dodges the attacks of the Knight, his stumps are still weapons to him, and she ducks down to avoid them and swipes her foot into his quickly. It nearly trips him over but he rolls across the floor, righting himself up.

Yang looks at his hands, seeing the flames and lava dripping from the pumice. The magma begins to heat back up and he growls in annoyance at her. The fire and cinders crackle and growl as they emerge from the stumps, forging the shape of hands from the lava as it solidifies into his hands slightly, creating plates that partially hold the magma inside. He then opens his hands, forming more Axes. He cannot be disarmed for long because he can just regenerate. Yang rolls her eyes. "That's cheating!" She argues. Fury growls at her and then he roars like some kind of demonic monster, the roar does also sound quite similar to that of the Nuckelavee as he roars, his eyes glowing bright orange from the fire inside.

He sprints straight at the team and his speed is unchallenged against them, mauling attack is brought down with enough force to cut a car clean in half. He goes straight for Blake and that's when Adam appears in front of Fury, blocking the axes with his red blade. The impact makes the blade glow bright red, Fury pushes down with force and Adam groans as he attempts to hold the Knight up.

He looks at Blake. "Go!" He yells, still amazed that he is actually helping, she does as he says. She sprints away from Adam and she leaps at Fury from behind, pushing Gambol Shroud straight into his spine. The blade of her Katana protrudes from where his heat should be, but it is nothing but fire. Fury snarls in anger and he turns to face her. To her utter disbelief, the pumice armour around him begins to spin round and the features that make his form also turn round.

The head spins all the way round along with the arms, shoulders, legs, ankles. He manages to turn around without actually needing to physically turn. Fury stares her in the eyes and his axes are now raised up and she holds onto his chest. Blake pushes her feet against his chest and she throws her Grappling Scythe into the wall. As she flies back, she narrowly escapes the cutting edge of his axe, smashing it through the concrete wall. She swings around the building, make a full revolution and coming right back for Fury.

She kicks both feet into his face, causing him to stagger back. She yanks the cable, retrieving her Scythe. Ruby now enters the battle and Adam stands back up, running with the other rose with Wilt and Blush in his hand. Fury spins his axes round in his fingers, his eyes focusing on them as they approach him. Fury opens his jaws and unleashes a cloud of fire straight at them both. Ruby transforms into a cloud of rose petals to avoid it, materialising above him fire rounds into his body, some rounds cause him to flinch from the impacts.

Adam dives forward to avoid the Wyvern flames and he rises up with a hefty swing with Wilt and Blush, carving the blade up his chest. The red blade cuts deep, leaving a glowing wound across his chest, smoke leaking out and the flames reconstruct what was once there. Adam is fast, attacking with incredible speed upon Fury, slicing him up to damage him.

Yang, Weiss and Blake figure out that the easiest way to take down Fury is to completely overwhelm him. He is fast but not tactical; if they can all attack him at once and cut him down fast enough to the point of which he can't regenerate...they might be able to destroy this form of his. They know that he will return, but if they can get him out of Mistral for a while, then that's a victory.

Yang launches rockets from Ember Celica at Fury, some of them exploding upon impact, creating loud demonic barks of anger as he staggers back. Weiss darts straight at him, pointing Myrtenaster at Fury as she launches straight at him, she creates a glyph that launches a barrage of Ice Shards into his back as she passes him. Fury starts to get more and more angry, the fire around him burning extremely hot and growing larger around his body, melting the icicles that have just been embedded in his spine.

Weiss smirks and she comes up with an idea, she has another friend who can turn the tide. She turns Myrtenaster in her hand, closing her eyes as he presses the blade into the ground, creating a Glyph in the floor. Whilst Weiss summons, Blake and Adam fight side by side, just like they did back on that train years ago. Fury strikes down with frenetic anger, smashing them straight into their weapons that are keeping them safe. Adam holds his hand out to Blake and she takes it, remembering their old fighting methods that they shared years ago.

Old grudges matter not here.

Adam throws her straight into the air and she soars into the sky above Fury as he holds his own against them all. She grits her teeth in anger and she dives down towards him with Gambol Shroud held tight. She points the pistol at him, firing over and over at him. She then spins the sword down at his head, pushing the Katana straight through his skull, the blade erupting out the bottom of his chin. He snarls in anger, staggering forward from the impact, despite that lethal wound, he is still standing. Fury writhes with discontent, reaching up for her. She rips the blade from his head, firing it into the skull over and over again, launching bullets into the pumice skin that contains the internal magma inside.

Fury bellows, grabbing her by her ankle and throwing her towards the floor. As soon as he lets go, Yang suddenly jumps and catches her. They both roll across the floor and they get back up. Yang clenches her fist and points it to Blake with a smile. Blake smiles back, bumping her fist into her's. "Boo-yah!" Yang enthusiastically squeaks. They both return to the battle, Yang immediately punches Fury in the head with her cybernetic hand, shattering some of the pumice plates on his face and he stumbles from that impact, creating a grunting sound from it.

Ruby jumps in the air, slashing over and over again with her scythe, causing immense damage to the Knight of Fury, cutting him up from the impacts. He has taken a lot of damage and his body is struggling to repair it. But he clenches his hands into fists as the rage builds up to the point of no return. Adam jumps into the air, pushing Wilt and Blush into Fury's chest, only to realise that it has no effect, like most of these attacks are. It should kill anything, but these guys are essentially Spirits.

Weiss opens her eyes, and her Knight forms beside her and sprints straight at Fury. Fury's spins round, smacking them all onto the floor with the massive bones inside. He looks forward, seeing the Knight running right at him. He grits his molten teeth, standing tall again, tightening his grip on the Axes as he stands tall.

Ice vs. Fire.

The Giant Armour holds the Claymore in both hands and Fury smirks with animalistic rage in his eyes as he runs at the Summoned Titan. The Giant Armour brings the huge sword down at Fury, the Knight of Grimm combats by stepping aside. Fury slashes his axes aggressively at the Giant Armour, burning into the ice armour that has been formed around it, fog trailing from its Glyph Form. But the Giant Armour is strong, it takes a few hits but continues to fight against Fury. The Giant Armour swings the sword straight across Fury's chest, causing massive damage that makes him stagger back.

But Fury manages to smash his axes into the sword so hard that the sword comes apart. The Giant Armour punches Fury in the face, making him stagger back from the punch. Fury grunts in anger as he staggers back. The Giant Armour continues to fight against Fury and it gives the others time to help it. It is powerful but even it is no match for Fury. Adam stands back up after being hit by Fury's wings and he holds Wilt and Blush in his hand, looking and the glowing red blade and then at Fury as he fights the Summoned Giant Armour. Yang runs at Fury and punches him straight in the spine and she also fires the shotgun into his back for extra damage, making Fury stumble forward into the fist of the Giant Armour.

Fury roars with enmity. Ruby leaps at him and she hacks Crescent Rose into him over and over to do more damage. But whilst she does it, he grabs her by the throat, cooling the flames in his hand to only make it pumice. He chokes her but then holds her over the floor.

He stares at them all. "Come any closer...and I kill the girl." He threatens. Yang's eyes widen and she snarls in anger, her eyes starting to turn red.

"Let her go." Yang demands.

"The Dark Queen demands her to be brought to her, dead or alive it matters not." Fury states as he stares down at them. Fury then stares at Ruby as she gasps for air. But Ruby manages to get a word out.

"Checkmate!" She utters to Weiss and Blake. Weiss and Blake nod, Weiss looks at the Giant Armour as she controls it. Fury looks at her with bewildered eyes.

"What?" He questions.

Suddenly a Glyph forms inside the wrist of Fury, stopping him from heating up his hand. He snarls in anger as he tries to tighten his grip but he cannot release her either. Blake leaps into the air, firing her pistol into the pumice hand, shattering it from the impact of the bullets. Adam stands tall as Fury rips his arm from the Glyph, regenerating his hand. He snarls at them and finally, he has had enough. The wings erupt from his back, spreading out wide and his arms extend into the wings and they form into the Wyvern's wings that claw into the ground with force.

The Knight's body of Fury completely transforms in vortex of hellish flames. The neck grows and the head transforms into the burning skull of the Dragon. The spines are made of pumice and magma with fire dancing around him like scales. The tail of the monster grows as well, and he swipes it across the street, burning and smashing buildings down. He spreads out his wings, taking off into the sky, gliding across the town. He looks down, breathing in deep with a hiss of an Alligator. He then opens his jaws, breathing a cloud of fire down into the city beneath him, consuming the streets across different areas of the city in fire.

He glides past haven and he drags his claws across the roof and breathes the cloud of fire into the building, fire burning inside, shattering the windows and incinerating all of the memories that existed. Fire as tall as buildings begins to spread across mistral, polluting the skies with black smoke. He continues to burn the city into ash but he banks round and he moves towards them again.

Fury creates a deafening, thunderous, roar as he spreads fire from his lungs into the town below. Everyone takes cover except for Adam. He stands his ground and parts the flames with his sword, consuming the energy from the fire as he stands there. The fire burns against his aura and his black trench coat that he wears, searing it in different places. The glowing hot Wyvern soars across the sky, continuing to burn other areas. But he banks around to attack again.

Adam stands defiant, staring at Fury as he banks round to attack them again because he knows that they are not dead. Adam holds his sword carefully as he watches Fury approach. Blake watches him and Weiss looks at the destroyed Giant Armour as it fades away, killed by the fire that was burned into the streets, amazing they even survived. "What are you doing?" Weiss questions in confusion as Adam silently stands in the middle of the street as Fury approaches.

"I know what he's doing..." Blake says.

Fury erupts with a loud booming roar, gliding towards Adam, his burning wings cutting through houses like a knife through butter, smashing and burning them down with those massive wings. Adam holds Wilt and Blush carefully, waiting for the perfect moment. He stares straight at Fury as he soars straight at him, jaws open to eat and kill him.

Adam then draws Wilt and Blush swiftly and he swings the blade right at him.

Suddenly everything turns red and black as he slices straight across the head of Fury. Adam remains stood in his same position and the body of the Wyvern completely disintegrates from the impact of Moonslice. The Fractured Moon floats in the sky, watching as Adam manages to slay the form of Fury, completely destroying his Wyvern form that he would have been killed by if he got him. The black embers float away from the impact, Adam's hair glows red and recedes as the event of Moonslice recedes. The shockwave from his attack has blown everything away from them and he stands tall, sheathing Wilt and Blush in his scabbard and he looks at the team who are taking cover. The city is on fire from his attack...

But Adam managed to take him down.

 

**Jaune**

Fury may have been defeated, but he is far from gone – and the battle is far from won either.

The Grimm are slaughtering the Mistraalians in droves, soldiers taken down from countless Grimm. A huge Deathstalker roars as it smashes its pincers downwards onto a Mistraalian Knight and crushes his body under both size and force. The armour and body is utterly pulverised, steel folded into the skin. Blood splattering everywhere across the ground, and one of the other soldiers staggers across the road from the earthquake level shockwave. The Deathstalker stares at it that soldier and hisses, clicking and snapping its pincers as it suddenly slams its stinger downwards. The curved stinger punctures straight through his chest and he wails as the huge Grimm Scorpion launches him through a building.

The window and wall shatters into a thousand pieces as his body comes flying straight through. Swarms of Grimm come charging into the building to devour him, ripping flesh from his bones to finish him off. The Grimm scavenge on the corpses left in the streets from the attack of the monsters, ripping skin and muscle tissue from their skeletons. The Beowulves growl aggressively as they shred their remains until nothing but bones remain.

Suddenly a building explodes as a Geist possesses the structure, transforming the building and the components into a combat form. Floating chunks of wood, metallic rebar, concrete and other areas into the body of some sort of giant. It walks towards the soldiers and launches chunks of concrete and rebar towards them. Huge pieces of iron rebar impale the soldiers, five pieces at a soldier, others crushed from the concrete and wood thrown at them.

Until Nora blasts towards the Geist, yelling as she swings Magnhild into the centre of its chest, shattering its body into a thousand pieces. The Geist rises from the remains of the building with a whispery howl, floating around with razor sharp claws at the ready. Ren lands down from one of the buildings and he throws one of his Stormflower Submachine Guns towards its head, and the curved green blade lodges into its skull. It recoils back from the impact, and it evaporates away into smoke. He spins round and presses the firearm up the jaw of the Creep that lunged towards him from behind.

He pulls the trigger and holds it down, unleashing a storm of green dust rounds through its skull, killing it.

A Beowulf lunges at Jaune, but White Knight pushes his shield upwards to hold the massive Grimm back as it slashes at him, barking viciously at him, slashing the claws at his face. He pushes it back and takes a slash across the face, his aura is beginning to wear thin from the amount of Grimm that have attacked him. He smashes the Beowulf in the face with his shield, then plunges Crocea Mors into the beast's heart, ripping it out and its body completely disintegrates away.

He has been injured, along with Ren and Nora, from the attacks of Fury as he burned the place down. The amount of buildings on fire...it is haunting to look upon. Nora yells as she smashes a bunch of Creeps in the face with one swing with Magnhild. Ren sprints and fires Stormflower at the Grimm around them, darting in between them to stay ahead and to remain faster than they are.

An Ursa roars as it throws a chunk of concrete straight at them, hitting Ren on impact. Winter stands with them, creating a glyph that launches her at the Ursa. She pushes both blades into its chest at the Ursa roars in pain, she pushes it down onto the floor and twists them. The Ursa falls lifeless, beginning to evaporate into smoke.

They are clear for now, and Winter approaches Jaune.

Jaune presses the blade of Crocea Mors into the ground. "This plan...has failed miserably." Jaune pants.

"I didn't think that the Knights would show up as quickly as they did." Winter says, looking around to find them. "Have you seen Loss?" Winter asks.

"No...I think she was going after the civilians with Fear.” Ren says as he gets back up, holding his side in pain, and completely blindsided by the fact that it was an illusion.

Suddenly an arrow comes shooting right by them, scraping across Winter's cheek, cutting the skin, Winter flinches, touching the blemish on her face. They all look at the rooftops and it is almost like she was summoned there as soon as they mentioned her. Loss stands there and she takes her bow and pulls it in half, holding the Tonfas as she jumps down from the roof and lands before them. “Jinxed it!” Nora exclaims. She stands tall, her black dress blowing slightly in the wind, and Winter stands strong, blood leaking from her cheek. They all know that they need to be careful, their weapons do not abide the laws of Aura. They can cut straight through it. Loss stares straight at Winter, it makes team J.N.R tear up slightly from her presence but she does not, she just stands there.

"Why are you doing this?" Winter questions.

Loss looks at her, a mysterious reflection between the two of them. "Because I have no other purpose!" She snaps, swiftly darting right in front of her.

She slashes her Tonfas at Winter, the Schnee blocks the attacks with her two swords. The swords smash into one another, clanging upon their impacts. Winter keeps her guard up, fighting as if her aura is down, despite the fact that it is not. Loss stands there and Winter slashes her sword at the Spirit's stomach. But then she reveals one of her abilities.

She turns into a form of fog, exactly the same shape as her physical form, but her blade just swipes straight through. Fear can do something similar, he just becomes a swarm of flies. Jaune picks up Crocea Mors in an attempt to help Winter.

Winter continues to defend herself, using Glyphs to get the upper hand. But Loss is fast, pushing her arms forward with the bladed Tonfas pointed at her. Winter kicks Loss in the side of the head, and she jumps backwards to get some distance from the Knight. Winter turns to see Jaune stood beside her with Crocea Mors in his hand.

"You can't risk it." Winter argues.

"I will not let anyone else die because I didn't try to help." Jaune retorts, his mind constantly fixed on Pyrrha. Loss paces back and forth, her combat style is very different to Fury's. She is quiet and she waits for them to make the first move, similar to Death. Loss looks at Jaune and she stops.

"You have lost someone you love...haven't you?" She asks him, her blue eyes looking at his, but hers seem far more unnatural than his irises are. He doesn't answer, but she can sense it. "Pyrrha Nikos..." She names as she searches his mind and Jaune grits his teeth.

"Get out of my head." He demands.

"I am sorry, Jaune Arc." Loss says to him and he stares straight at her, making sure that his stance is in the correct position, just as Pyrrha taught him. Shield Up...Grip Tight...Front Foot Forward. Loss paces back and forth still, her Tonfas ready for combat and Jaune looks at Winter.

"I'm not going anywhere." Jaune says. Nora and Ren stand back up, wielding their weapons as well.

"And neither are we." Ren says, pointing the two Stormflower Pistols at Loss and Nora holds her heavy hammer, glaring at Loss. Loss looks at the four of them and she sighs through the black veil concealing her face underneath.

"Then you have accepted your fate." Loss coldly states.

Jaune waits but Nora charges in first. She swings her hammer straight at Loss, but the Knight ducks down and she kicks her in the head with her boot. But Nora's attack was not foolish, it was to lower her guard. Jaune and Ren sprint straight at Loss as Winter presses her sword into the floor, summoning her tiny Nevermores to swarm around her so then they can attack the Knight.

Jaune slashes his blade straight across her chest and she yells in pain, salted water spills from the wound instead of blood or even darkness, it is like she is made out of tears and fog. Ren sprints at her, leaping into the air, firing his dual wielding Stormflowers at her, green dust charged bullets piercing her skin. He lands behind her and slashes her with the blades built into them like bayonets.

Loss yells in annoyance, creating a pulse of sorrow that pushes the two back from her, tears leaking from their eyes, but the two are strong enough to block out their past. Jaune can faintly hear Pyrrha's voice and Ren can hear his parents. But they both ignore them to not collapse like Fear can cause people to. Nora sprints across the torn up road to smash Magnhild into Loss' chest. Loss is thrown straight into one of the buildings. But she isn't done.

Loss stands back up, silt and rubble on her black dress. She steps out, dropping down from the hole in the wall and then she stares straight at them. She holds her Tonfas tight, the light from the moon shining upon the razor sharp blades. She sprints straight at them, clanging her blades against theirs, dodging their attacks or just countering them. She grabs Nora by the neck, lifting her off the floor after she throws her Tonfa straight at Winter. Winter pulls her sword out from the floor, ending the summoning sequence and the Nevermores disappear.

Winter holds both blades and with the help of her Glyphs, she zooms across the ground towards the Knight. Loss throws Nora straight into one of the cars, flipping the car over. Nora groans in pain and a pink rush of light channels across her body from the little aura she had left being completely vanquished from her body. She reaches out to her hammer on the floor to fight again, despite that she is too weak to even try.

Ren looks at her and anger begins to charge through him, he kicks her in the head over and over after jumping in the air. Loss reaches out to her Tonfa, and to their amazement, the weapon flies from the ground and straight into her hand. She immediately slices the curved metal blade up Ren's chest and he screams in pain. Blood trails up his chest as she cuts across as well. His aura ripples like it did to her. Loss grabs him by the ankle, throwing him into the tarmac with force. He groans in pain and she lands right beside him, kicking him in the side.

Jaune yells in anger as he swings his sword with force at Loss but the female Knight just steps back to avoid his attack. She brings the blade of her Tonfa round, enough force to behead him with it as well, but he manages to lift his shield up to block the blade. Loss pushes and scrapes the blade down the white and gold features of the shield, sparks bouncing from the impact. Jaune stamps down on the back of her leg, bringing her onto one knee, giving Winter time to do some damage with a roundhouse kick to her face. The impact would knock a normal human being out, but she is a Knight of Grimm.

She rolls across the floor, taking her two Tonfas and she connects them together to build the bow. The Bowstring forms from fog that ejects from where it should be, solidifying in her fingertips. Before her fingers forms a glass arrow and she places it in the bowstring, drawing the bow and aiming it at them. The arrow shoots straight at Winter but Jaune lifts his shield up, and the arrow shatters upon impact on his shield.

Winter forms her Summoned Beowulf beside her, pointing her sword at Loss and the Beowulf throws its clawed hands back with a roaring howl. The beast charges straight at her and she stands her ground, launching her arrow at the glowing white Grimm with blue markings instead of red. The Beowulf dodges them and leaps straight at her. But Loss is stronger than she looks, Loss reaches up, catching her Beowulf by the throat, lifting it high and then crashing it down into the ground with a great amount of force, sending cracks across the ground. The Beowulf rolls and gets back on its feet, but she slices the sharp edges of her bow across its head, beheading it and killing it.

But Winter can summon more than one, and Loss looks around her, her large blue eyes noticing them all surrounding her. They all start to charge towards the Knight, roaring and howling as they leap at her. All with ice white mist surrounding their bodies, the first jumps at her but she twirls on the spot, beheading the Beowulf with her Tonfa. As she rotates round, she connects the two Tonfas together and draws the bow with three arrows at the ready as she fires them to four of them. Three nail three Beowulves, reducing them to snowy ashes and she immediately throws one of her Tonfas into its head.

She turns and she blasts towards Winter and grabs her by the throat, and with all her might she throws Winter across the street. The Atlesian Specialist crashes against the road, tumbling but she lands the impact on her feet. She immediately draws her sword, her eyes focused on Loss as she pulls the smaller blade from within her main sword.

Winter runs at Loss, smashing both blades of hers at the Ancient Warrior with force, Loss uses her Bow like a shield, blocking the blades with the metal structure. Sparks erupt from the impacts but she kicks Winter in the gut. She grabs Winter by her ponytail and yanks her across the floor, throwing her into the fountain made of concrete. She smashes her head down in the concrete with enough force to actually reduce what remains of her aura to zero. Blood leaks from her forehead and from her broken nose.

She forces her head down towards a sharp chunk of concrete that sticks out from the fountain. Winter pushes her hands against the fountain, pushing her head back up to combat the force of the lethal warrior that has managed to overpower her, one that does not taunt them very often. Winter grits her teeth as she struggles to keep her face and neck from the razor sharp piece of concrete pointing to the stars.

All of a sudden, Jaune wraps his arm round the neck of Loss, pulling her from the Schnee Woman and he throws her away from her, lifting his shield up and pointing the blade of Crocea Mors straight at Loss. Loss drives her Bow into the floor, stopping her body from rolling too far from the fight. Loss stands tall, staring straight at Jaune. "You are running from your own failure." Loss taunts as she stares at him.

As Jaune stands there, his vision becomes partially impaired, instead of seeing the Widowed Woman walking before her, he sees Pyrrha walking instead at times for brief seconds. Like she was actually there, her long red hair waving across the wind as she walks, her golden and red Spartan armour around her body. Her huge emerald eyes looking into his with a loving smile.

But he shakes the feeling off when Loss leaps straight at him. Jaune smashes his shield into the two Tonfas that she now wields, she grinds her blades against the shield, staring straight at him. "Let go...allow yourself to see her again with the infinite." Loss says, but her voice is Pyrrha's...the emotion of melancholy going to his head as he hears her gentle soothing voice.

"Get out of my head!" He repeats, swinging his sword straight at her in anger.

The blade of Crocea Mors scrapes across the veil and she staggers. Every time that she attacks, he sees Pyrrha swinging at him with her sword, making him feel like he is fighting the woman that he loves with all his heart. But he knows that this is the Knight of Loss messing with his head. He remembers everything that the real Pyrrha Nikos taught him when on that rooftop, almost fighting just like how they trained. Smashing their blades across each other with force, the metallic bangs echoing across the land in their fight.

Loss swipes her foot at his legs, but Jaune jumps in the air, bringing his shield round her head with enough force to cause her to stumble. Loss can't get to fight him for whatever reason, he is somehow able to block her emotions out to focus his senses on fighting her. She goes to attack him when she manages to kick his shield from his hand. She slashes her blade across his stomach, cutting through his black hoodie and through the flesh, blood spilling from the wound.

Jaune cries out in agony, blood leaving his mouth and a hot pain shocking up his body as the cold blade cuts through him. Jaune falls to one knee and Winter watches in horror, trying to get up to help, Ren and Nora are doing the same to help their friend as Loss prepares to finish him off.

Jaune stares at her and Loss sighs. "Join her." Loss says, tightening her grip on her Tonfa.

She strikes towards Jaune’s neck, and as he remains on his knee, Crocea Mors faintly glows...showing some sort of collection of alien glyphs on the blade. Then his aura begins to glow.

And something totally unexpected happens.

There is a sudden flash of light that completely shatters Loss' blade in her hand. Loss looks at her snapped Tonfa in complete disbelief as the shards of metal drop and bounce onto the floor. She looks straight at Jaune with utter disbelief, and Jaune takes his chance.

He takes both hands and he swings Crocea Mors across her neck.

Jaune lets out an epic battle-cry that echoes through the city, sending chills to those who fought with him.

Loss completely shatters into glass, and the glass evaporates into fog that passes away in the wind, leaving Jaune on one knee. The cloud of water vapour fades away, being blown away in the wind, leaving them all alone, striking down a second Knight...something about the metal that Crocea Mors is made of...it managed to beat a Knight in one swing when nothing else could harm her.

Jaune coughs in pain and he sees Ruby staggering from the battle against Fury.

Jaune just struck a Knight of Grimm down in one hit.

Nobody has ever been able to do that.

 

**Qrow**

Death grabs him by the back of his neck with his armoured hand, throwing him across the street and into one of the buildings. Red energy ruptures across his body and his sword is on the floor. Death creates a menacing chuckle, approaching Qrow with Ferrum Arctus in his hand, the black smoke trailing from the blade.

Qrow coughs in agony, spitting blood from his mouth. Death pushes his boot against his side, pointing the blade at his face. Death stares down at him. "Here we are again..." He says menacingly.

"If you're gonna do it..." Qrow growls.

"Kill you?" Death scoffs. "Oh no...not yet..." Death says.

"Why? You always say that you want to claim all life..." Qrow questions in confusion. Death looks out at the landscape of Mistral, the darkness spilling into the once beautiful city.

"Death arrives for everyone at a fixed point...yours has not come yet...but one has." He says.

Qrow stares at Death with confused and fearful eyes, bruised and battered from their conflict that Death has just won. "Who?" Qrow questions.

Death turns to look down at the street below where the battle was just taking place to defend the civilians, the civilians that are likely to all be dead. He just points his sword at one person. Qrow follows the blade and his red eyes widen in horror when he sees Ruby walking over to Jaune and the others after their battle against Loss.

Qrow looks right at Death.

"No...let it be me!" He begs.

"A father will always put his daughter's life above others...what a good one you are." Death compliments to him. "But the laws of time and nature must be adhered."

"You mean Salem's?" Qrow scoffs and that makes Death chuckle.

"You really think I serve her?" He asks her.

Qrow looks at him in complete and utter confusion, since he thought that all Knights serve her. "We do not serve her...even she is not the one holding the strings. Our master...his plan has been undergoing for a long time. You still have a role to play – but hers has not." Death states, revealing that there is something more powerful than the Knights and Salem combined. Begging the question: _Who is this person?_ "Death comes for all at a certain time, I cannot stop my minions from slaughtering because that means that the Puppet-Master has chosen them to die now. You? Your time is not today."

"We've cheated you before and your ally before." Qrow argues. Death turns to face him.

"No....he has merely let you continue to suffer a little longer." He states, walking towards them. “But your daughter’s? Her suffering will end tonight.” He assures.

"I won't let you!" Qrow argues, reaching for his sword, trying to get back up.

But Death kicks him in the chest, launching him into a wall, spreading cracks up the wall, and chunks of concrete breaking off from impact. He groans, coughing and spitting blood onto the floor from the impact. He looks at Death, begging him to spare his beloved daughter. He then looks at the Fractured Moon, pointing at it.

"You won't be able to stop us...for no matter what...your daughter will die..." Death states, forming his Bow in his hand, holding a Glass Arrow in his fingers. Qrow looks at the moon and a shiver of fear pulsates across him when he sees the massive black and red wings of the Grimm Dragon returning, seeing a squadron of Griffons and Nevermores flying with it.

Qrow stammers in horror when seeing that monster again and then he looks at Death. Death's wings fold out and he flies into the air, heading straight for Ruby.

Unaware that a black crow with glowing red eyes and a crystal beak watches the battle...

The same one that was outside their Safehouse when Oscar and Ozpin revealed themselves.

The Crystal Crow...

There is more to it than meets the eye.

But Ruby...

Her time is running out.

 

 


	24. An Eye For An Eye

**Sun**

He smashes Ruyi Jingu Bang across the head of a Griffin that lands right down in front of him. The impact blasts the dirt and grass past him as they remain where Oscar was taken by the Knight of Fear. The Griffin staggers from the impact, an almighty bang from the impact, cracking the bone skull armour for a head it has. The Griffin snarls with anger as it roars, jumping at him with its beak open and talons extended to slash at him. Sun brings the staff upwards and knocks the beast back with a boom.

The Griffin staggers back and he claps his hands together as he focuses his mind and forms three Via Sun forms before him that grab onto the wings of the Beast. The huge Griffin roars with rage as the three glowing gold aura forms of Sun hold the creature down, whilst Kassius rushes towards the monster. He jumps high in the air and drives both blades into its spine and slices clean through the thick black hide of the creature. It shrieks in agony as the thick plumes of jet black smoke pours out from the wounds it has inflicted.

With all his might, he runs and drags the swords through the shoulders of the Griffin, cutting both the wings and the front legs of the creature clean off. The Griffin collapses face first into the ground with a bang, and Kassius jumps off it, landing on his knee with his swords in his grasp. He looks around and he turns when he hears the rumbling of a Creep that tunnels towards it. It suddenly erupts right in front of him, launching soil and grass into the air. It immediately smashes its armoured head into his chest to knock him back.

The Creep bellows monstrously, sprinting towards both of them and Sun fires his Gun-Chucks at the beast over and over again, blowing segments of armour from its head, before he thrusts the staff forwards and stabbing it straight through the softer section of its head in order to kill it.

The Creep and the Griffin both slowly disintegrate away into a cloud of smoke and they both stand there, feeling utterly defeated.

“Goddamn it!” Kassius roars with rage as he punches a tree with his cybernetic fist. “We were right there!”

“There wasn’t anything we could have done...” Sun sighs, he may feel the same anger that Kassius feels.

“What do we do?” Kassius questions...a query that will be difficult to answer.

“I don’t know...but we need to find the others.” Sun says.

“Got it...let’s go.” Kassius agrees, as they make their departure from the forest that Oscar was taken from.

**Death**

The black dragon soars across the night sky, its hissing shrieks travelling across the hilly landscape. Black shells plummet from its ebony scales, crashing into the ground, giving birth to fresh new Grimm. The Beowulves and Ursa roar as they land, attacking the surviving civilians in the streets with animosity fuelling their attacks. Creeps dig into the ground, popping up before civilians, mauling them with their massive jaws, running on bipedal legs. Qrow can only watch in horror as he witnesses a massive failure. The Knight of Death looks down as the Grimm flood the city like a plague, killing everything in their path. Neptune and Scarlet are both injured still, using their weapons while they still can as Thara attempts to start the car to get them out of there. Qrow's bad luck affecting them once more.

Death tightens his grip on Ferrum Arctus and he turns to face the Huntsman that he has defeated. "Your time has not come...but others have." Death states. "This is the beginning of your extinction, Qrow Branwen. Do not fight it, for it cannot be defeated. I will claim all souls eventually, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow...it could take years...but from this day onwards...your daughter will be my target even if she survives this night." Death explains. "Did you really think that I kill where I wish? When I wish?" He questions. "I am bound by my code, to kill when it is time for them to die. We have simply been playing you; keeping you occupied...the people here have become the chosen to die with Mistral. If it were that simple...you would all be dead." Death assures him.

Death approaches the edge of the road where they stand upon. His red eyes fixate on Ruby's.

"I won't let you." Qrow argues, standing back up with blood leaking from his mouth. Death stares straight at him.

"You can't stop me." Death states, dropping down from the road to attack them.

The Dragon soars straight over their heads, smashing a clock tower down above them, Ruby gasps when she sees the building collapsing above their heads. Winter looks up at it and she forms a glyph to block the collapse above Neptune and Scarlet. Scarlet is still wounded from having his hand broken by Death. Jaune presses his hand to his stomach, feeling the blood seeping out and dripping onto the floor. Ren and Nora vacate from the premises.

Ruby turns around to look at the rest of their team as the Clock Tower crumbles down in between them. "Ruby!" Yang screams, reaching out to her. But the tower collapses right between them, the blast nearly knocking her off her feet and sliding across the floor. Thara struggles to get the car moving, the battle has caused too much damage to it and the car is dead.

"It won't start!" Thara yells, bruised from the tricked civilians that attacked her under Fury's influence.

"We need to get them out!" Winter says, holding it up there as best as he can.

Scarlet can still walk, so he gets up and he puts his arm around Neptune, lifting him off the floor. Neptune screams in agony as they pull him to safety as Winter falls to one knee, trying to help keep the glyph there. As soon as Thara and the others are clear, she releases it, exhausted from having to use her semblance for so long. The massive pieces of rubble crash down onto the car, crushing it under the weight of the impact, completely flattening the car with shards of glass sliding across the floor along with flickering gold sparks bouncing on the floor.

The malfunctioning engine explodes, causing orange flames to bleed through the rubble that flattened it. Yang, Weiss and Blake clamber up the side of the destroyed tower to get to Ruby where she stands in the crossroads. Adam has vanished, but he was not under the tower when it collapsed. Yang runs to her sister and Weiss runs to hers as well. They both hug their siblings tightly; Yang nearly lifts her baby sister off the floor as she holds her.

"I thought I lost you!" Yang exclaims in a worried tone. Scarlet helps carry Neptune to safety but none of them notice the Black Nevermore diving down from the sky above them and landing right behind Scarlet, transforming into Death, wielding Ferrum Arctus in his hand. The impact is so powerful that they are all thrown onto the floor.

Neptune rolls onto the floor, blood leaking constantly from his legs and Scarlet gets back up, firing his Flintlock Pistol at Death once more, and having no effect. Death brings the black blade up with force and Scarlet wails in agony as the blade carves clean through his wrist that wields the pistol. Blood erupts from the stump and he shrieks out, unable to grab it with his broken hand. He staggers back and Neptune looks in horror.

"Scarlet!" Neptune screams, reaching out to him. Scarlet looks at him, the red hair moving from his eyes to reveal both. Suddenly the blade of Ferrum Arctus erupts through Scarlet's chest, pushing through the rib cage, scraping against his bones inside. he reaches up in complete agony as Death lifts him off the floor, blood pouring from his wounds. Ruby's eyes widen in horror as they witness Death completely murder their friend right in front of them. Death stares at them when Scarlet's body ceases to struggle, his arms falling back and nothing but blood leaking from his wound.

Death swings Ferrum Arctus to the side, the body of Scarlet still impaled on it and the body slides straight off the blade, smashing into the wall and laying there. Neptune can't stop looking; now he has lost another good friend to the monsters that have been a part of the Fall of Mistral. Death stares straight at Neptune, as he is also on his list as Scarlet was and Neptune screams in anger, pointing his Dust Powered Rifle at the Knight as he walks towards him with his Claymore in his hand.

The blue rounds impact the thick black armour plating but they are deflected off, like light against a mirror. The rounds burn straight into the floor as he walks towards Neptune. But Weiss darts in between them both and he forms a glyph in between them both. Death's blade slams down into the Glyph and he stares at it, he pushes straight down, cutting the glyph in half, causing it to become unstable. Death calmly grabs Weiss by the throat and he chokes her, holding her off the floor as he stares at Neptune, pointing Ferrum Arctus at his throat.

"Death comes for you all from tonight onwards." Death states, pulling his arm back to plunge the blade of his sword straight into Weiss' stomach. Death pushes the blade straight at her and Weiss gasps in pain, as the blade sinks straight into her stomach, blood pouring from her wound.

Her blue eyes widen in agony and she shrieks in agony. Team R.W.B.Y erupt into rage, sprinting straight at the Knight. Yang's eyes erupt into glowing red rage, and she jumps straight at Death, punching him in the side of the head. The impact from her metal hand hitting his head makes him stumble, he pushes Weiss from the blade, it did not kill her as it did to Scarlet, he plunged it through his chest instead of stomach, but it has fatally wounded her, blood pouring from her wound.

She lies on the floor as blood constantly pours from her injury, crying out in agony as she reaches to the man that she loves with all her heart. Neptune crawls over to her side, unable to use his legs from what Death did to him in Nevermore form. He pushes his hands against the wound, applying pressure...

It is not looking good.

So much blood.

The Ice Queen looks into his eyes with fearful tears leaking from them, but not for her sake, for his. Blood has completely covered his hands and he looks straight at her. "Weiss...hold on...you'll be okay..." He promises. Weiss coughs in his arms, blood leaking from her lips. Weiss sniffles as she looks at him.

"I'm sorry." She stammers as she looks at the blood all over the clothes that she is wearing. She still holds Myrtenaster tight as she lies on the floor.

"You have nothing to be sorry about, just keep your eyes on me." Neptune begs.

Death has had enough, no more playing games. He is showing them all what he can do, they all fight him at once but none of them have landed a blow since Yang punched him in the head. Death catches Yang by the throat and he smashes her straight into the ground, sending cracks across the ground.

He immediately slashes the blade of Ferrum Arctus across Blake's chest, sending her flying and tumbling into the floor, blood smudging across the floor as he wipes them out. Jaune swings Crocea Mors at Death but the Knight catches the blade with his armoured hand, and with one sharp movement...

The sword is pulled right from his hand and falling onto the floor across the street from him.

Death proceeds to kick the Arc boy in the chest as he smashes into the floor. Nora and Ren run at him with their weapons but he spins round, flexing out the Nevermore Wings to launch Fatal Feathers directly at them all, crippling them to the floor as it shreds down their aura. They roll across the floor in pain and Death continues to fight them. Sun and Kassius run into the battlefield and they see what Death has done.

Weiss is bleeding out...Yang has been wounded as well as Death stamps down on her chest, rupturing many organs inside of her, making her spit out blood. Kassius clenches his hands into fists when he sees that and something completely unbelievable happens. His eyes suddenly explode red with rage, like the Grimm, red mist trails from his eyes. He screams in anger, sprinting straight at Death. Lines crack through the skin on his face with burning embers trailing from the fissures.

He slashes both blades at him with massive force and the sudden attack has given him the upper hand against the Knight of Death as he staggers back, deep cuts in the armour from his attacks. Death brings Ferrum Arctus directly at Kassius but he ducks down to avoid the blade, so much rage has channelled across him that he is completely unpredictable to Death, moving fast and attacking hard.

But as Kassius tries to fight him, Death grabs him by the face, smashing him right down beside Yang, holding the black smoking blade tight in his hand. He goes to plunge it into his and her stomach but Sun goes to attack him. Death stares straight at him and swings the sword into his chest, launching him into the fountain. But when he goes to attack, Kassius is stood back up and he is carrying Yang to safety.

Ruby screams in anger from the loss of Scarlet and from him fatally injuring Weiss, she lunges straight at him. Jaune with her as well, holding Crocea Mors again after finding it on the floor. Death spins round and his wings grow from his cape, and as he turns, he batters his wings against them both, sending them flying through a building, down a cliff and onto the road beneath them, crashing down with force. Jaune groans in pain and Ruby is shell shocked.

Neptune holds his beloved Ice Queen tight, holding his hands against the wound to try and keep her safe. Death stands there; kicking Sun onto the floor when he tries to attack, but it has no effect. He stands there and looks straight at Weiss who is dying on the floor with Neptune in her arms. Death begins to walk towards her, behind them is the dead body of Scarlet David, blood has pooled out around his corpse.

Not far is the body of Sage by Haven which is on fire. The Dragon soars overhead, dropping more and more Grimm into the city. Neptune points his rifle at Death, shooting at him, but to no avail. Weiss stares at the Knight as he approaches and Winter attempts to go after him but he just swings his sword back at her, sending a sharp pulse of darkness that knocks her back. Qrow watches in terror from where Death left him stood upon as Death approaches her.

He holds Ferrum Arctus in his hand and points it at her throat. She has become incredibly weak, more blood leaking from her stab wound...

But something changes in Death; he stands there, turning his head slightly as if he heard something. And then he looks back at Weiss. He still points the blade at her throat, but to all of their surprise...he leaves her. He turns and walks away from them both.

Because he knows that there is something he must do. He disappears into a cloud of black smoke, vanishing before them. Neptune sighs with relief and they see a Crow flying up to them to help them. "We need to go." Qrow says, transforming back into his human form. He picks up Weiss, holding her in his arms, he rips his sleeve off and wraps it round her waist to hold the bleeding back as best as he can. Sun picks up the injured Blake and Winter helps Neptune back up to his feet, but they are all incredibly weak.

"What about Ruby and Jaune?" Nora questions.

"We are going there now!" Qrow replies, referencing the road that they are taking to get down to where they were launched by Death's wings.

 

**Ruby**

The taste of metallic, irony blood fills her mouth and her senses...

Her large silver eyes gaze out across the destroyed Kingdom of Mistral, the Academy of Haven in shatters from the huge battle that has torn this once great place apart.

Burning pain across her body where she has suffered immense pain from a fight she knew she could not win. Claret trickles down from a deep gash across the side of her forehead, bleeding down one of her eyes, partially blinding her vision with a reddish blur. Dizzy from shock, chunks of rubble surround her where she was thrown through the wall and tumbled down the hill and past different buildings.

Ruby sits upright, groaning with pain as she feels so light headed due to her concussion, and with her aura completely depleted she is in great danger. Her ears are ringing constantly from being stunned so severely, coughing up dust and even some splatters of blood into her hand. The roars and screeches of Nevermores echo above her head, grabbing and killing the civilians attempting to flee the city of Mistral.

Fires blaze across the city, the Grimm Dragon soars over the city as he breathes flames into the city. Plumes of smoke and fire plunge through the streets, consuming the civilians, hearing the sound of Beowulves ripping innocent civilians to shreds beneath her. Their screams burn through her ringing ears with terror, until she hears someone grunting with pain as well not far from where she is.

Ruby was not the only one who was thrown down there by their foe that is destroying them all in combat. Jaune stumbles, blood leaking from his side and staining his torn _Pumpkin Pete’s_ Hoodie that he wears all the time. Deep scratches and scuffs in his armour and in Crocea Mors as he approaches her, coughing as well. “Ruby!” He calls, squeezing his hand against the bloodied wound, claret stains his gauntleted hand, and he falls beside her as he tries to get her back to her feet. “Ruby!” He repeats, shaking her.

Ruby appears to be suffering from Shellshock; she cannot hear him or even acknowledge his presence at the moment. “Come on, Crater Face! Snap out of it!” He yells, and that seems to push her out from this state of shock that she is suffering from.

“J-Jaune...” Ruby weakly whispers, confused of what is happening due to her shock, coughing again from her pain that she suffers from. “W-Where’s Yang?” Ruby questions through a trembling voice, staring at her close friend for assistance and fear for her big sister’s safety. Jaune’s blue eyes dart back up to the crater in the building where they were both launched by him. Smoke rising from where they were, no longer hearing the clattering of weapons and cracks of gunfire that once burst earlier.

“I don’t know...” Jaune answers as he looks around, hearing something shuffling towards their location, the sounds of razor sharp claws scraping through the cobblestone beneath them. He scoops Ruby back up to her feet, her knees are shaking and she has a limp due to a deep gash in her ankle and in her side. She yelps from the sharp pain that just jolted through her body, it even feels like her arm could be broken, or at least cracked in some way.

The two of them jump from their skin, hearing the deafening screech of the Grimm Dragon that glides on over ahead, blasting flames from its jaws that burn more sections of the city to ashes, killing more and more innocent people and any surviving Huntsmen or Policemen. The huge black wings extend out, blocking out the lunar light from the fractured moon that hangs above the sky, watching their every move. It flies towards the main building in Haven Academy, slamming its huge sharp talons into the building and swinging its huge body around it to land on top. The Grimm Beast stretches its wings out and swings them back and forth, roaring immensely to the sky, breathing fire from its black scaly throat.

_It is like the end times..._

Jaune is not a fool...Haven and Mistral are both lost to them, the Grimm have invaded the city and are slaughtering everyone left and right around them. Ruby crouches down, or at least she struggles to, and grasps onto the massive body of Crescent Rose at her feet, some of the pain has been scraped off from the battle. Jaune grabs Ruby by her shoulders to get her attention, the shocked girl stares into his eyes fearfully. “Haven is finished! We have to go!” Jaune trembles, just as scared as his younger friend is, but she still wants to help stop them.

“We can’t just – argh – leave them...” She argues, pressing her hand against her side and holding onto Crescent Rose to not collapse from pain. Jaune catches her, holding her up despite his own wound that he has suffered from during this long siege.

“They can handle themselves! But we need to get the hell out of here!” Jaune pushes, staring into her eyes to convince her. Reluctantly, she groans and nods her head to agree with him, coughing with pain still. Ruby watches as he takes point, jogging ahead when suddenly a Grimm Beowulf lunges out at him with a roar, slashing its claws at him. She gasps as she goes to attack, until a blast of wind knocks her onto her back.

A huge black Nevermore flew right in front of them, the downdraft of its massive wings knocked her over, and the Beowulf has pinned Jaune against the ground. It snaps its bony jaws at him over and over again, drooling onto his face as he presses his Claymore against its throat. He roars with rage, pushing the blade and scraping it through its jugular. Black smoke erupts from the beast’s throat and it roars with pain, erupting and disintegrating into ashes around him, only just failing to kill him.

Jaune turns and stares at Ruby, seeing real fear in her eyes now. “Come on!” He calls.

Until suddenly...

An Obsidian Arrow shoots right past Jaune’s face, and as if time just slowed down, he could see the arrow slowly passing right by his face as it travels towards Ruby’s eye. The arrow shoots directly for Ruby, but she darts away with her semblance saving her life, a blast of petals saving her life. Jaune watches the arrow, seeing the obsidian arrow glistening against the sunlight, and then it vanishes into the petals, sliding across the floor. His eyes widen in grief when he sees the crimson colour of blood on the arrowhead.

His eyes turn when he sees Ruby stood there, stumbling around. Her head turns to face him, and Jaune nearly collapses from sorrow and anguish. He nearly drops Crocea Mors...

Her shoulder length black and red hair blows aside, revealing a flush of red that pours from her left eye socket, damaging her face badly. She stares at Jaune with her one eye, blood bleeding from her fresh wound that terrifies Jaune. His eyes bulge from his eyes. “Jaune?” She mutters in shock. Her body collapses to the ground, hitting the floor with her head. Jaune sprints to her side, holding her body in his arms.

“No!” Jaune cries out. “Ruby!” His cries of horror echo across Haven, across Mistral. Tears fall from his eyes. "No...Not again..." He begs, sniffling.

But then his eyes look up at where he saw the arrow come from.

He thought the arrow belonged to Cinder Fall, it was so similar...

Then he sees it stood there, and it haunts him...the same being that put them down there in the first place. The same being that has brought this Great Kingdom to its knees in practically one night.

It stands tall, formed from some sort of jet black armour plating and a long torn black cape made of smoke that flutters with the wind. It holds a Bow in its hand, and it shatters into tiny pieces, the chunks burn and transform into golden embers that are carried away in the wind as he stands there. The glowing red eyes in the sharp triangular helm glare directly into his large blue irises, seeing the tears of sorrow in his eyes.

Then the being speaks...

In a hideously demonic voice...

And it says only one phrase...

“An Eye For An Eye...”

 

**Jaune**

It's all over.

Mistral has fallen.

Haven Academy collapses from the fire that has consumed its wooden structure, plummeting down the two tower-like mountains that it once stood upon, and if there were still people inside...then may god rest their souls. The Grimm remain inside, like smoke spreading through the city, killing the Grimm. They failed...they have lost the two Relics...Weiss could be dead, Scarlet and Sage are dead and Lionheart is gone, along with Oscar and Ozpin.

Palpitations of breath echo through the woodlands outside of the destroyed city as the Grimm finish is off. Jaune runs as fast as he can with his wound still bleeding. He holds Ruby in his arms, her eye bleeding onto his black jumper and his armour. His eyes are wide as he runs, his mouth agape, looking at her unconscious body in his arms. She is still alive...barely...Death's arrow has caused serious damage to the gentle rose.

Jaune looks over his shoulder as he flees, seeing Death stood behind him with a horde of Grimm running behind him. Death points his sword straight at Jaune and the other three Knights form beside him, showing that they cannot die...at least not through the same methods as normal Grimm. The Grimm charge past the Knights, Beowulves howling as they charge after him. Crescent Rose was left behind at Mistral, blood drips from Ruby's hand that hangs down.

Jaune refuses to leave her, running as quick as he possibly can to keep her safe. A Beowulf leaps, smashing through a dying tree as Death walks with them, killing the plant life that they walk through, the creaking screams of Trees collapsing as he passes them.

Jaune runs, seeing a burning tree before him, meaning that Fury has been here. He puts his shoulder forward so then Ruby does not hit it. His shoulder smashes through the burning tree, burning wood exploding around him as he runs, crumbling down around him as he runs, and embers sitting on his shoulder. Smoke rises up from the tree as it collapses from its support being blown apart from him running into it. Jaune runs further and further with the Grimm behind him...he knows that they are behind him. He looks back at Ruby; there is so much blood...

Death continues to walk after them with the other three Knights. Fury is constantly tensing his hands into fists as he glares at them. While he runs, a spotlight shines upon him, his eyes look up to see a Bullhead hovering above him in the treeline with Red and Black colours painted upon it with golden accents also added to the metal plates. It is a Bullhead belonging to the Acolytes of Lien, following them.

The Grimm are starting to catch up with them, so Jaune knows he needs to try and lose them all somehow. He turns, seeing what looks like a cave. He runs into the woods, using the trees to obscure the vision of both the Acolytes of Lien and the Grimm. He runs into the cave, vanishing into the darkness, and he continues to run, seeing that the tunnel goes deep into the ground. He looks back, seeing the glow of red from their eyes as they chase after him.

The orange glow of Fury chases after them like a cloud of fire pluming behind them. He manages to get free from the cave as there is an exit, and the Grimm pile up against the thinner exit, throwing their bodies into it, cracking it as they impact it.

The Bullhead retreats when Nevermore begin to leave the remains of Mistral, scanning the forests for any survivors. Jaune stops for a couple of seconds, taking refuge behind a boulder and he sets her down, looking at her wound on her face. He stammers...he doesn't know what to do...But when he sits by her, he hears Fury roaring monstrously as he emerges from the cave, smashing it down. He looks down at her...and there is a way out of this.

He looks down at the beautiful girl and he sighs. "I'm gonna lure them off...don't you dare die on me." Jaune begs. He draws Crocea Mors, standing up with brave intentions as he runs out from the rock and stares at the Grimm. "Come on!" Jaune challenges, his shield held high as he gets their attention. Death, Fear, Loss and Fury stare straight at him with their weapons at the ready and Fear smirks at him, pointing his rotten finger right at him. The horde charge straight at Jaune and he begins to run from them, luring them away from the rock where he hid Ruby. He sprints away from them, a multitude of Grimm pursuing him, the quake of their charge following after him.

He runs and runs from them. Death stands there as the Grimm that they summoned have gone after Jaune, along with the other Knights. He stands there and he looks around, he is not foolish, he noticed that he was not holding Ruby. He clenches his hand into a fist as he looks at the rock where he left her, and he slowly walks towards where she lays, blood still leaking from her torn open eye.

He holds Ferrum Arctus tight and he points it straight at the rock and he charges black lightning across the blade. But then he hears voices getting closer, he turns and he snarls. He turns and vanishes from the scene, expecting Yang or someone to appear. But instead, there are Acolytes of Lien; they patrol through the woods, their rifles held high.

They are perilously close to Ruby.

Jaune sprints again, like he is caught in a time loop, but now he no longer holds Ruby, just Crocea Mors, risking his life to make sure that she is safe. He sprints as fast as he can, looking back to see the horde and Fury sprinting after him with rage. He continues on to try and lure them off. When he runs, he finds an old abandoned farm where a tree has collapsed from the Goliaths that marched through, crushing the buildings and the fences that once surrounded it. He sprints to the tree, vaulting over it and hiding behind the huge tree trunk. He sits there, resting his back against the bark as he sits there.

The Grimm are getting closer and closer.

He grabs the red sash on his hip that reminds him of his beloved Pyrrha Nikos, running his finger across the velvet as he looks at it with tearful eyes. I'll always be with you, Jaune.

He closes his eyes, hearing them getting closer. He exhales through his lips, hearing something getting near, heavy footfalls and the floor getting hotter. He opens his eyes in anger, standing up as Fury leaps straight at him with both axes raised. Jaune screams as he leaves the tree and the Grimm run over the Tree, trampling across the sash left behind, being buried under the soil as they charge after him.

He is outnumbered...

And alone...

 

**Yang**

 

Jaune's battle-cry echoes nearby and she stops, she is now back on her feet, battered and bruised after Death completely eviscerated them. He is as powerful as all of them, carrying nearly all of their skills with him except for Fear and Loss' mind manipulation capabilities. That is what makes him so lethal; he has the strength of Fury, the speed of Loss and the Intelligence of Fear. Yang stops when she hears him yelling and Kassius stops with her, his eyes have returned to their initial blue state. Whatever that freak-out of his was. "Was that Jaune?" She asks him. Kassius listens carefully...there is only silence now.

"I don't know..." He says.

"We need to find Ruby." Yang says, pushing through the brush. She has no idea about her condition, which will make it far more heart-wrenching for when she finds her beloved sister in the state that she is in right now. Bleeding into the soil by a rock. Yang proceeds forward and they both look up when they see the Bullhead patrolling the skies, examining the ground to find out where she is.

They stay low to avoid detection from the Acolytes as they look for her. Yang is in the same place that Jaune was in; the soil is torn up from where the Grimm charged through to get to Jaune, claws tearing up the soil as they ran. Kassius and Yang look at the soldiers as they approach the rock where she is hiding. Yang looks carefully, and from the point of view she can see from, she can see her hand there. She knows it is hers as well because of the slight catch of red from her outfit. Her eyes widen and she gasps. The soldiers somehow have not noticed her body on the floor yet, walking past the rock that Jaune hid her by.

Yang gets up and runs over to the rock, despite Kassius trying to stop her. She keeps her head low to avoid detection, she slides past the rock and she looks at her sister. Her heart sinks from horror when she sees the red blood all over her face and her missing eye from where Death shot her with his Bow and Arrow. She stammers in horror, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. Kassius runs up to her side and he stops...pausing in horror when he sees her body there with so much blood from her horrific injury. But he sees her breathing. "Yang...she's alive." He assures.

But Yang doesn't hear him.

She just looks at her baby sister on the floor who has been incredibly wounded and her eye begins to twitch, pure rage in her face as she begins to grit her white teeth together, clenching her hands into tight fists. She closes her eyes and when she opens them...

They are blood red.

The Captain of the Squad walks with his men, holding his rifle. He is the same Captain that was in the Bullhead with Cinder when they arrived at Mistral. "Spread out, when we find her, kill her." He orders to his men. They all stop when hearing her blood-fuelled rage as she howls from the rock where they are. The Captain stops and slowly looks over his shoulder at where her shrill came from. He wears black sunglasses over his eyes, looking at where she yelled.

Yang charges straight at them, her eyes glowing red and pure anger engraved on her face, Ember Celica primed and her fists clenched as she charges straight at the Mercenaries that are trying to kill her. "It's her sister!" A Mercenary yells.

"Shoot at her!" The Captain orders.

One of the Mercenaries turns to face her, firing his Assault Rifle at her, holding the trigger back as he unloads a magazine at her. The bullets race at her but her fury makes her aura completely deflect the bullets. Bullets smash into the trees and she pulls her arm back as she runs at the first Mercenary, punching him straight in the head with enough force to flip a car.

His neck snaps and he is thrown straight into the soil with force. Yang also fires the two shotgun bracers at her enemies as they all fire on her. Yang ducks down to avoid the shotgun of another soldier, upper cutting him with her fist and firing a blast from Ember Celica, blowing his head to smithereens. She continues to charge, shooting one in the chest as she punches him, running to the next batch.

She spins round as she avoids the swarm of bullets and as she turns, she powers up another blow, decking him so hard that it fractures his skull and kills him without even firing a round from Ember Celica. She punches down into the rifle of another mercenary, completely shattering the gun and then she shoots him in the head with one of the rockets, blowing his body up in a spray of red, some of it splattering against her outfit and face, turning her hair partially red.

She decimates the mercenaries and grabs the rifles of another soldier, bringing her fist round to smash him in the leg, breaking his leg and bringing the other round into his head, firing a shotgun blast as she does it. As she charges through and wipes out the Acolytes of Lien, she is constantly screaming with anger over what has happened to her baby sister.

The Captain readies his sword as she runs at him, two soldiers standing in between her and him. The two Soldiers fire their firearms at her and she continues to charge, punching one in the chest and the shotgun blast blows a hole in his chest. She grabs the other by the head with her metal hand and pulls him as she runs, crushing his head into a tree. She finally charges at the Captain, leaping into the air with a powerful battle-cry, pulling her arm back and smashing her fist right into his head.

The impact breaks his neck and she shakes with anger, dead Mercenaries around her. She tenses up, letting out another scream of rage.

Kassius remains by Ruby's side as Yang lets out her fury on the Mercs. He has removed the armoured sleeve that he wears over his human arm and he rips the sleeve of his jacket off to wrap across her wound to stop the bleeding.

He covers only one eye in case she wakes up but it is not enough for her to survive this, she needs medical attention. But it is better than leaving it open like that. He puts the armoured sleeve back and he checks her pulse, and he still feels a very faint pulse to her body.

Other Mercenaries emerge from the woods when they heard Yang going berserk on them. She sprints directly at the soldiers, knocking them all off their feet as she fights them. Kassius looks at her rage as she destroys them, and he has something similar that he has not told them about, when he cracked when seeing her get hurt. She fights and fights the soldiers...

But finally...

She manages to kill all of the Mercenaries. She stands there by the corpse of a Merc, she breathes slowly, closing her eyes, when they open, and her pretty big lilac eyes look around again as she turns to her sister on the floor. She sprints back to Ruby, sliding beside her and she picks her up, pushing her black and red hair aside and she shakes her to try and wake up. "Ruby..." Yang cries as she holds her sister.

"She's alive." Kassius assures. Yang gently strokes her finger against her cheek.

"Her eye..." She sniffles, her voice cracked and broken. Kassius walks over to her side and he holds her by her chin, turning her to look him in the eyes.

"She will live." He promises as he looks into her eyes. "But we have to get her to safety, to a village preferably."

"If there are any left that the Knights haven't destroyed..." Yang sniffles.

"Well, we'll have to wait and see. I'll carry her." He offers.

"No...I've got her." Yang says, holding her gently.

"No big sister should ever have to carry their dying little sister." Kassius states, holding his arms out to carry her. Yang bursts into tears and she gives Ruby to him, looking at her constantly as her body doesn't move. Her heart may still be beating...but it is horrible for her to see Ruby like that. All because of Death and his sadistic laws and his code that he follows so truly. Kassius holds her, he is stronger than Yang is and he walks with her to get her to safety.

No one knows what happened to Jaune.

 

**Qrow**

 

The rest of the team are together.

Qrow carries the dying Weiss Schnee in his arms, blood pouring from the wound she suffered from Death as she tries to save Neptune, only leading to her also being injured as well. Blake has also partially recovered from her own injury, running with them as they get out. The group is made up of: Qrow, Winter, Weiss, Ren, Nora, Neptune, Blake and Sun. With Sage and Scarlet dead, and Weiss and Ruby in critical conditions, the Knights of Grimm have well and truly branded their mark upon them all.

Weiss is crying out in agony from the searing hot torment that she suffers from, blood has now soaked into the sleeve of Qrow's white and grey dress shirt. Winter keeps her eyes on her little sister, making sure that she is alive still. Neptune is now being carried by Ren and Sun who hold him up by both arms, since his injuries have rendered him unable to walk completely. Blood still bleeds from the wounds in his legs.

Weiss cries out when there is a sudden jolt of pain across her body from the movement. At the moment, she is very lucky that Death's blade did not sink all the way through her and come out her back like it did to Scarlet. He only managed to push the top of the blade into her stomach, but even that is life threatening. "We need to keep moving!" Qrow hurries.

"Go where?" Sun questions as he carries his friend with the help of Ren. Nora looks around with nervous eyes, holding Magnhild tight in her grasp.

"There has to be a town that hasn't been hit. Towns have doctors, medication. Stuff that can help Weiss!" Qrow calls back to him. Blake runs, she has a makeshift bandage made from parts of Sun's shirt that is around her waist where Death cut her with his sword. She is still in pain but she can run. Blake holds Gambol Shroud in her hand along with its sheath, dual wielding them both.

Sun is blocking out the loss of most of his team until he can get everyone somewhere safe. Weiss stammers in pain as she looks up at the clear night sky, the endless constellations of stars above them.

"It's beautiful..." She whispers.

Qrow looks at her.

"What?" Qrow asks her. Weiss' eyes close slowly and she passes out in his arms, and that nearly gives Winter a heart-attack.

"Weiss?" Winter says with a fearful tone. Qrow places his finger to her neck to check for a pulse.

There is one...but it is becoming pretty faint. "She's alive; I think she just passed out from the pain. That's good." Qrow says to them all.

"How is that good?" Nora questions as she keeps up with them.

"Because her body won't be using up too much energy to stay awake, it gives us more time." Qrow says. "But we need to keep up the pace."

Sun and Neptune look back at Mistral; it was also their home for quite some time as well.

Now it is nothing more than another smoking ruin.

Claimed by the Darkness.

They failed.


	25. Epilogue

**Whitley**

The young boy with ashen hair walks gleefully down his Atlesian Hallways, completely oblivious to the hell that Mistral is suffering through right now. Unaware that his own sister is dying right now because of Death. Klein walks past him with a silver platter, holding an assortment of sweets and cakes. Whitley does not even glance at Klein; he just takes a cupcake and continues on, taking a bite out of it.

Klein groans, rolling his eyes in disgust at the spoilt brat that just passed him. Whitley approaches the door of his father's office, the cold air creating a bone chilling aura as he approaches. He stops when he hears his father shouting at somebody inside. He sighs when he stops, leaning against the wall. "We have lost all contact with Mistral, and you are asking about your suppliers?" Ironwood scoffs in disgust at Jacques.

"What can I say, James? I am a businessman." Jacques responds.

Whitley opens the door, walking inside as he finishes the cupcake and his crosses his arms, leaning against the wall. Ironwood looks at Whitley and then at Jacques as the door closes.

"I will take my leave." He says, turning from Jacques.

"No." Whitley objects as he puts his hand in front of the door. Ironwood stops in his tracks and looks at the young boy who looks right at him. "Whatever you were speaking of can be said in front of me." Whitley states. Ironwood looks at him and then back at his father, he has his hands clasped together on his desk, looking at the General. James looks at Whitley Schnee and he sighs, turning back to his father.

"We cannot just abandon Mistral like this." Ironwood says.

"You were the one who locked down Atlas." Jacques points out to him. James angrily glares at him.

"Please, Jacques...your daughters are down there. If Mistral has fallen to the Grimm, aren't you worried about their well-being?" He asks him. Jacques glares at him and he scoffs.

"They are not my daughters anymore...they lost that title when they turned against the Schnee Family Name." He says to him. The look of complete and utter disgust on James' face is to be lauded from how much he cares compared to the ice cold business man who sits before him. "If Mistral has fallen, then so be it. We must focus on ourselves, the Grimm might as well finish off Vacuo, at least when they come here we will have our defences ready to wipe them out." He says.

It is at this moment that James truly sees the mad nature that has grown in Jacques Schnee like a parasite. "What has happened to you?" James questions, taking a full step back. Jacques leans forward, still staring at the General.

"I am getting a grip, doing what you are failing so miserably to accomplish." Jacques reveals to him. James turns around and his eyes widen when he sees Whitley holding up a pistol, pointing it straight at his face. Whitley smirks at him as he stands there, pulling the hammer back with his thumb, loading a fresh bullet into the chamber. James stands still, his eyes moving down and then he realises that Whitley has managed to take his Revolver without him even noticing. He then looks at Jacques.

"What are you doing?" He questions.

"Getting a grip..." Jacques answers. "Guards!" He calls.

The door opens and a pair of Atlesian Soldiers step inside with their rifles aimed straight at the General and his eyes widen as he finds himself betrayed, they all point their firearms right at his face. He holds up both hands, he is outnumbered and most certainly outgunned. "Under your eyes...Atlas shall fall...under mine?" Jacques says, his hand pressed to his chest. "I will keep us safe." He says. Jacques looks at the guards over James' shoulder. "Take him away." He orders. One of the soldiers takes the butt of his rifle and thwacks it against the back of James' head, knocking him onto the floor with a grunt. The soldiers drag his body from the office and Whitley closes the door behind them.

"That went well." Whitley chuckles as he puts the gun down on the table before his father.

"Well done, son." Jacques compliments with a villainous smirk on his face.

"So, what now? Our contacts have said that Mistral has fallen...what's the next step?" Whitley asks Jacques.

Jacques picks up a bottle of alcohol and he pours some into his glass on the table, filling it with whiskey to give the ice cubes something to float upon. He picks up the glass, shaking the cubes before he takes a swig. He exhales as he looks up, his breath emerging in a cold cloud of mist from his mouth.

"Next...we talk with our allies." He says, pressing a button.

The lights in the room dim and the projectors fold out from the walls and ceiling, creating a live feed with two individuals. Merlot is one of them; he stands tall with his cybernetic augmentations shown through the pixels that make up his body. The second man is different; he has slicked back black hair and three scars straight up his left eye. He is quite muscular and has tattoos up his arm with a pair of swords sheathed on his back. The man has seen warfare for a very long time. He also wears a black trench-coat with red and gold accents, the same colour scheme as the Acolytes of Lien. "Darren Ortega, good to see you made it." Jacques greets as he stands up to them.

"Ah yes...finally joining the party, eh?" Merlot chuckles as he turns to face him. The man does not say much, he just looks at Merlot with a sarcastic sound as he rolls his eyes.

"Do not think us friends; Jacques...our alliance is a contract, nothing more." Ortega seriously speaks, with a very strong and intimidating voice as he crosses his arms.

"Fun chap, isn't he?" Merlot laughs.

"How are things going?" Jacques asks him, pacing back and forth with his glass in his hand.

"We have secured many towns and facilities. My men are ready to provide the defence and offence you need." Darren promises.

"Good...at least I have some defence. Those kids are a magnet of bad news for people like us." Merlot says.

"Not against what we have created. My soldiers are now equipped with the most advanced combat tech ever created, designed to challenge these...warriors...with ease. They won't stand a chance." Darren says.

"Don't underestimate them. They managed to tear through my machines back at Vale." Merlot states.

"Those were simply machines, our soldiers are effective. And with the Onyx Phantom, she will be able to kill them quickly anyway. With James Ironwood out of the picture and Ozpin already taken care of, we just have to finish off the White Fang." Darren explains.

"Any idea of where Adam Taurus and Sienna Khan fled?" Jacques asks him.

"Well...we checked the camp that my spies overheard them speaking of. The Knights of Grimm picked the place clean." Darren continues. "Wherever they are...they had help."

Help from whom?

Jacques nods his head up and down and then he looks over at his son who stands in the corner. "Whitley." He summons. Whitley approaches his father.

"Yes, father?" He cheerily responds with upbeat animation. Ortega literally rolls his eyes at Whitley; clearly he does not like the boy that much.

"I want you to continue to run the business whilst I meet with our allies at Drift of Wandering Star. Keep the peace. I will return shortly." Jacques says to him, setting his glass down on the table. Whitley smiles, sitting down in his seat.

"Of course, father." He replies, blindly following the orders of his father. The meeting comes to a close and he walks out of his office, leaving his son to finish off his work in there. Whitley smirks...feeling more power and control in his hands.

He is becoming exactly like his father.

 

**Cinder**

 

The young woman sits inside of a Bullhead that takes her and Watts back to Salem's Sanctuary in the Uncharted Lands. She looks through the window of the vehicle as it travels across the dark landscape and all that travels through her mind is everything that happened there. She knows of what happened to Ruby...that Death took that satisfaction from her easily.

Watts is quietly sat looking at his scroll at the information that scrolls down the holographic screen before his fingertips. Cinder observes the skyscraper sized purple dust crystals that stick from the ground like the ribs of an ancient beast. And amongst them stands the Sanctuary, a huge structure with a tall tower in the centre of it, the huge hall and many other large buildings surrounding it. Beowulves howl to the Fractured Moon in the sky as they stand there. The Bullhead decelerates when approaching the landing pad and Cinder is the first to get up, walking out of the ship. Behind her is Watts.

They walk towards the doors and they push them all open. Stood inside is Death, his sword pressed into the floor. Mercury and Emerald are sat at the huge table, feeling incredibly vulnerable whilst this blood-thirsty Grimm Knight is stood only a couple feet away from them. She storms straight towards death and she stretches her finger out towards him. "Why did you do that?" Cinder erupts, ending his conversation with Salem. A stunning silence forms in the hall and he slowly looks over his shoulder at her, his glowing red eyes fixating onto her.

"Why did I do what?" Death questions.

"Take that from me? I was supposed to kill Ruby! Not you!" She shouts. Death chuckles menacingly at her, his shoulders bobbing up and down as she makes such a claim. He walks away from Salem towards her and he holds his sword, as he always does, in his right hand. Dark smoke trails from the blade of Ferrum Arctus.

"And why did it belong to you?" Death asks her with a tilted head.

"She did this to me." Cinder implies with her hand pointing to the patch that covers her damaged face. Death stares into her soul and Salem still has said nothing, she just observes to see what will happen next. Or to make sure that Death does not go too far.

“Aye...and you murdered Pyrrha Nikos, her friend – and was responsible for the death of Penny Polendina and the destruction of her home. I feel you losing your eye was the least you deserved.” Death states, chillingly taking the side of the heroes in this situation.

“What should that matter? We made a deal! I was the one to kill her!” Cinder yells, this time staring directly at Salem with a furious expression in her amber eye.

"And that means you earned the right to take her life?" Death says sarcastically.

Cinder shrieks in anger, pulling her arm back. Fire ignites around her fist to form a fireball that she intends to throw at him. Death suddenly swings his sword right across her chest, the impact launches her onto the table, and he steps onto it, towering above her. He watches as her orange aura flickers over her. He managed to disable her in one attack...the Fall Maiden. "What a pathetic little creature you are." Death says to her. He presses his metal boot down on her chest and she strains, groaning in pain and annoyance. He pushes down, leaning down to stare her straight in her amber eyes with his red glowing eye shaped auras.

"Yes! I've been waiting for someone to dispatch her once and for all!" Watts maniacally says with a gritted smirk on his face.

Cinder screams, thrashing at him but to no avail, and Death is doing all of this for one purpose.

To make Cinder look weak.

Death snarls deeply. "If you were actually worthy of something, then you would have killed her by now." Death states. "You had the chance before you had the Fall Maiden's strength and you failed. You could not kill her when you killed Pyrrha Nikos." Death lists. "You could not even kill her when you had the chance recently, before you lost the fight to her sister." Death states with disappointment. "The two times I have encountered the girl, I have had the chance to kill her, but Corvus always gets in the way." Death says to her. Emerald and Mercury watch the event carefully as Death could easily kill Cinder right now and that will leave them purposeless to Salem. “But not this time.”

"Death...that's enough." Salem requests with a lift of the hand. Death glares at Cinder, pressing the blade of Ferrum Arctus to her throat, scraping it against the skin, drawing blood. He still has not obeyed her command. "Death! I said that's enough." Salem demands again. Death still does not step off Cinder. It is true, he does not serve Salem, for whatever reason...perhaps he is stronger than her? But eventually he lays off her, taking the blade from her throat.

"You disappoint me, Cinder. Pyrrha Nikos would have made a fine Fall Maiden." Death states, turning and walking away from her, leaving her enraged as he returns to Salem's side. She coughs in pain, feeling the harmless cut that Death gave her.

"You're lucky, that's the least he would have given." Emerald whispers.

"No point whispering, I can hear every word that you are saying." Death promises as he stands there.

"That's not creepy at all." Mercury groans, which makes Emerald look at him with scared eyes. Death turns and walks around the room, returning to his old position with his sword against the floor. Salem turns to Death.

"She is still alive?" Salem asks.

"Indeed." Death coldly says, showing little emotion as he always does. Cinder sits in the chair, crossing one leg over the other as her aura recovers from Death's attack. "Tyrian Callows has informed me that he is going after her. The Jaune Arc boy had her, but we lost sight of her. Perhaps he can locate her."

"What of the Arc boy?" Death asks.

"Dead." Death says.

Salem nods her head, turning and walking back to the table with her hands clasped together. She sits down in her chair and she exhales. "The plan is proceeding beautifully, are you certain that Jaune Arc is dead?" She asks him.

"I returned to the last known location...all I found was this." He says, holding the sash that was plunged into the ground and it is coated with blood. "I did not sense any life signs in the area; he is either dead or going to be soon. Either way...dead." Death answers.

"Then we have killed many Huntsman and Huntresses today...destroyed Haven..." She looks forward and sees the doors opening as Fear emerges, throwing Oscar down onto the floor where the cane drops from his hand. Oscar shudders in terror as he looks up, seeing Salem standing up to see him. He has cuts and bruises on his face from his time with Fear, and the constant time amongst him makes him constantly shake in fear.

"And have acquired two Relics...and the boy connected to an old friend of ours." Fear says to Salem. Salem looks at Fear curiously.

"Who?" Salem asks.

"Dear Ozpin." Fear answers, almost mocking the way that she said it once. Salem lets that pass and she stares down at Oscar, crouching down to look him in the eyes.

"Ozpin..." She coldly says.

Oscar looks at her with fear in his eyes, and he hears Ozpin speak. Salem can hear him just as the Knights can. "What have you become?" Ozpin asks with a shred of sympathy in his voice.

"I am what I am because of your sins, Ozpin." She snarls in anger. She stand back up, her eyes glowing bright red. She then sees another person entering the building behind Fear.

"I also picked up this trash along the way, as well." Fear points out as he points his thumb at him.

It's Professor Leonardo Lionheart.

He walks over and he looks at her, the tall Grimm Human that stares at him with an untrustworthy smile on her face.

"Why hello, Lionheart." She greets.

"You asked that I come?" Lionheart nervously says as he walks inside.

"I did...I wanted to thank you for the help you have given us.” She says, picking up the Relic of Creation on the table, holding it in her hand. Somehow she can hold these things, her red eyes looking down at it, glowing intensely as she looks at it. Lionheart nervously looks around, seeing Cinder looking at him.

They do recognise each other...

He lied.

Again and again he lies...

"You really are a coward." Cinder scoffs, hearing her say that is a shock to all of them. Lionheart looks at her and then looks away as he looks up at the Fractured Moon.

"I have done what we agreed upon." Lionheart begins. "Mistral is destroyed and I gave you the Relic...you have no further need of me..." He continues, aiming to continue on to leave this place. Salem stares straight at the relic, interrupting him as she turns to Death who stands behind him.

"I don't." She abruptly answers with a swift nod to Death.

His eyes widen in terror when he is too slow to stop Death grabbing him by the shoulder and plunging the blade of Ferrum Arctus straight through his spine and up his chest. The blade scrapes through flesh and bone, lifting him into the air. He is killed practically immediately from the attack and Death drops him onto the floor. Oscar, Cinder, Mercury and Emerald share the same expression.

Pure shock.

Oscar stammers in fear. "Lionheart..." Ozpin whispers in terror.

Salem reaches down and picks up Ozpin's cane and she holds her hand above the bulbous grip. The grip shifts, tiny pieces of metal disconnecting from each other and opening the chamber that holds the secret Relic inside. The relic rises into her hand, glowing bright green whilst the other glows blue. She holds them both in her hands, the light shines around her and Death steps into the shadows to avoid the light.

"I feel stronger already..." She chillingly snarls.

 

**Jacques**

 

An Atlesian Transport soars across the sky towards a massive Ex-Atlesian Airship. The once grey vessel is now customised with the Acolytes of Lien Colour Scheme, mostly black with red as the secondary colour and golden accents painted upon the hull. It remains above the city of Atlas, looking very out of place beside the other Atlesian Vessels. It is huge though, dwarfing the others, the huge wings blocking out the sun in the sky.

The aircraft docks in the hanger, the magnetic locks holding it in place and an airlock tube emerges for the passenger to enter the ship. The doors open, and Jacques Schnee walks out of the craft to find his allies. He walks through he holds his hands in the pockets of his white jacket.

He traverses up the stairs to find the Captain stood at the bridge with his hands behind his back. "I will admit, Jacques Schnee, you do deliver on what you promise." Ortega says to him, turning around to face him with a smirk, shaking his hand. On one of the screens is Merlot as he looks at them from wherever he is right now.

"I was expecting to meet you in person." Jacques says.

"Ah, well old chum, I must continue my work whilst we make deals." Merlot says to him as he looks at them from where he is.

"So then, what's next?" Darren asks him with crossed arms.

"Well, with Mistral and Vale out of the picture, the Knights are most likely going to focus on Vacuo next. We need to find a way to control the Grimm before that happens. Therefore, we must keep up appearances. Keep Salem thinking that we are one hundred percent on her side, but when we have the weapons we need against her, we can turn her own Knights against her." Jacques explains.

An insane idea: controlling the Knights of Grimm.

"It will be a challenge; it was a monumental undertaking to simply control a Creep, but a Knight? This will take resources." Merlot says to him.

"They will be provided. I have managed to purchase seats on the council, so eventually I will have more control over Atlas." Jacques explains.

"So we will continue to hunt down the White Fang and those kids?" Ortega presumes.

"Yes. We need to get them out of the picture; they will destroy our chances if we don't." Jacques answers.

"I heard that your daughter was gravely injured by Death." Ortega says to him.

Jacques pauses, but he eventually continues. "That just makes your job easier. Just make sure that the rest are found, especially the Silver Eyed kid." Jacques says to him.

"Death already got her, shot her eye out." Ortega says. Jacques nods his head.

"Good. Then all you have to do is find the rest and destroy the White Fang." Jacques says.

"The data of which I have collated over the years has been very useful in improving the serum. And also in improving the technology the Acolytes of Lien are able to use – at personal cost as well.” He says as he touches his cybernetic eye with his metal hand.

"As long as you can get the job done, I will give you the resources and funding you need. Just hold your end of the bargain." Jacques says.

"I always keep my promises, Jacques." Merlot assures.

"Didn't you say that you want my men searching the ancient lands for anything?" Ortega asks the mad scientist.

"Oh yes! I almost forgot!" He bounces. "I have learned some valuable data, that in the wild there is an old city that has never been uncovered, near Vale and the Sanctuary. That city is said to hold many secrets that can be of use to me, especially around control. If your Mercs can find anything, send it back, I am willing to pay lien for anything that they may uncover." He explains.

Jacques looks around the ship, named Drift of Wandering Star; it is an older ship, one that has seen war since the Great War. "Where did you find this ship?" Jacques asks the captain.

"It belonged to my Great Grandfather; it was where this great Syndicate began." He says as he holds his hands out, walking around the bridge. "The Acolytes of Lien were once fighting for the people of Vacuo, we were an army, but we had enough and decided to eject from the war and continue our lives in peace. From what I was told, it worked for a while, but we were all soldiers. Trained in one art: killing. So the people once branded as The Forsaken Syndicate, became an army of Mercenaries for hire under the command of this Frigate that we stole. Our numbers grew and grew, and before we knew it, we were everywhere, taking in those who left the White Fang or just old soldiers to fight with us. But for payment, and thus the Acolytes of Lien...were born." Ortega explains.

"Fascinating..." Merlot sarcastically says.

Jacques looks back to his two allies. "We all have jobs to do...I propose we do them."

Jacques turns and leaves and the feed to Merlot's lab cuts off.

Leaving only Captain Darren Ortega at the helm of his ship. "Let's get a move on."

Behind him stand many Acolytes of Lien mercenaries, wearing tactical gear that they have customised to suit themselves. "Together, we were once all in the same boat!" He begins to the men. "Which one was that?" He asks, giving a military style speech to them, pacing back and forth on his deck.

"A boat of pity and poverty!" The men all recite in unison, their voices erupting inside.

"That's right, and that is why we serve Salem and Lien. She promises us to be free of the world of pain and being abandoned, as does the man who pays us. Those who turn against those who pay us, or are allies to our enemies, are enemies themselves. Therefore...we show them no mercy, we kill them on sight." Ortega continues with power in his tone.

"We shall grind them into dust!" They all say united. Ortega stands before them all, clenching his hand into a fist.

"And continue our march to glories and wealth!" He concludes with a cheer in his voice.

 

**Qrow**

The next village has been completely destroyed...

Smoke rising from burned out buildings and bodies laying everywhere. The Grimm attacked and left, the Knights of Grimm are destroying all life on Remnant one village at a time. Qrow carries the dying Weiss in his arms, her crimson blood covering his arms and his white shirt. She has turned pale in his arms, blood leaking from her mouth, Neptune's eyes constantly on her as Sun and Ren help him along.

Winter clenches her hand into a fist. "Goddamn it!" Winter shrieks in anger, taking her sword and sweeps her blade aggressively across the trunk of the tree, cutting it in half. The tree groans as it collapses onto the ground with force, the bang echoing across the landscape. Blake walks over to Weiss and she checks her over, her eyes are barely staying open and she groans in pain.

"There must be things here..." Neptune says weakly.

Qrow stands there, hopeless...and he knows that the bandage is of no use anymore, too much blood soaking through. Weiss moans in pain and she looks over at Blake. "I...won't be in the best form...anymore..." She weakly whispers to her friend. Blake sniffles, wiping the tear from her eye.

"Don't talk like that, we're gonna patch you up and you're gonna be fine!" Blake assures her as she holds her hand. Weiss coughs in pain, blood falling from her mouth and onto the floor. Nora holds Magnhild in her hand and she looks around, hearing the distant howls of Beowulves in the distance.

"They're still here." She says, transforming the grenade launcher into her Hammer. Winter holds her sword up, looking around with Blake beside them. Sun and Ren continue to hold Neptune up. Qrow turns when he hears a strange sound resonating from behind them. His red eyes widen when he sees who emerges.

 

**Yang**

 

She and Kassius walk through the woodland area outside of the city of Mistral, pillars of smoke rising into the sky where Fury's flames have consumed the city. The glow of fire has reflected against the clouds of smoke congregated in the night sky. The growl of the flames can still be heard all the way back there. Kassius still holds the injured girl in his arms, her head rested against his shoulder, the wound is still bleeding relatively badly and she still has not woken up. They continue to walk but they both stop when they hear the sound of something landing nearby.

The reverberation of metallic footfalls approaches their position and they look around to find the source of which it is coming from. Alongside the menacing approaching form is the sound of a mad cackle in the bushes. "We're being followed." Kassius whispers to Yang. Yang's large lilac eyes look around, afraid...not for her safety but for her baby sister's. She tenses her hands, loading a fresh shell into Ember Celica and her cybernetic arm transforms into her other gauntlet.

She has a tremble in her breath as she looks around, hearing the movement in the brush, something massive moving with the deep thrum of metal shifting across each other as it moves. The mad laughter of someone bolting through the bushes. Yang turns to Kassius who is still holding Ruby.

"Get her to safety...I'll lure them off." Yang whispers to him. She pumps both Ember Celicas and she fires them into the bushes when she hears the movement again. The movement begins to chase after her, Kassius reluctantly leaves her with Ruby in his arms and Yang retreats into the forest, firing her weapons behind her to try and get their attention. She continues to run and then she finds a small clearing where some trees have collapsed over the area.

She looks around, her golden hair bouncing as she walks past the toppled trees. She is shaking in fear as she hears the sounds of metallic movement around her. But no sounds of cackling, just the haunting movements of something. She twitches from every sound, like it is all around her.

Suddenly he emerges, Ferrum Arctus pointed at her with dark shadows surrounding his metal body and he approaches her, slicing a tree clean in half to walk right at her. She screams in terror, since he has done more damage to all of them than any of them have before now. She fires Ember Celica at Death as he approaches her. The shells impact his dark metal skin, deflecting off from the impact and he hardly even flinches from the impact. His glowing red eyes are fixed on her.

She backs up in fear from him and he continues to approach her with his hand clenched into a fist. She backs up, but Death suddenly stretches out his hand, right at her. Yang freezes in her stance and she cannot move, only able to move her face. Yang has never felt such fear before, after seeing what he is capable of after he attacked them when Loss and Fury were taken out in the battle. She tries to break free from his hold but she can't.

He is growing stronger...

Every aura he consumes the stronger he becomes.

Death approaches her slowly with Ferrum Arctus gripped in his hand. "Draco Parum Serenum..." He says, speaking ancient tongue to say sunny little dragon. "We finally get to speak out of combat." He coldly says, staring straight at her with emotionless red eyes.

"What...what do you...want?" Yang stammers.

Death walks to her shoulder, standing behind her. "Argentum Natus." He says in his terrifying voice. "Your sister..." He adds. He turns round, pressing the blade of Ferrum Arctus to her cheek. Yang's eyes widen in pure fear. "Where is she?" Death demands, his eyes glowing bright red as he glares at her. Yang can hear the chilling screams of those that he has claimed within the blade of his dark blade, even Sage and Scarlet can be hear wailing from torture in his command. Yang looks at it in horror. "Do you hear them?" Death asks her.

"Let them rest..." She begs.

"Life is a tool...one that I will use to end it." He says to her with villainous intent. "All in life is choice...you have one before you." He coldly says. Yang musters her strength and her bravery against him as she hears their screams of horror, including the screams of Lionheart and team A.B.R.N inside of the blade and she blocks it all out.

"Help us!" Scarlet screams inside of the blade.

She shakes it off and looks back at him. "Over my dead body." Yang snarls at him. Death stands there, silent and then an audible sigh emerges from the mask, pulling the blade from her face.

"That can be arranged." He says. He lifts the blade up to swing it right into her neck to end her life. But then he hears the scream of Tyrian not far.

"I've found the girl!" Tyrian yells. He stops the blade right by her neck and he looks over his shoulder at where he yelled. His head turns to Yang; the he lowers the sword down.

"Your aura will belong to me...but not today." He says, turning from her with the swing of his sword, creating a metallic thrum from its movement. He then releases Yang, releasing her soul from his grip. She nearly collapses onto the floor, using her hands to stop her collapse. She gasps, turning when Death spreads his black wings and takes off into the air. He glides over the trees to find Tyrian and she chases after him.

She runs through the bushes and as she returns to where Kassius was, she sees Death grab him by the throat and throw him straight into a tree from Ruby. Kassius grunts in pain as he hits the tree, shards of bark snapping and falling around him. The Cyborg rolls across the floor and he looks up when he sees Death stood there.

Ruby is vulnerable.

Tyrian stands above her and he smirks. "The Queen would like to have a word with you." Tyrian chuckles.

"No!" Yang screams as Tyrian picks her body up. She runs as fast as she can to get to him. "No!" She repeats, screaming over and over again. "Let her go!" She begs. Death waves his hand before them both, forming a similar portal to that of Raven's, except his is completely black with smoke trailing from its internals. Tyrian laughs maniacally as he carries her and they both walk towards it. Yang leaps at Death but as soon as she does, he vanishes with Tyrian into the event horizon of the portal. It collapses just as she jumps toward it and she rolls onto the grass.

Ruby is gone...

Yang remains on her knees and she throws her hands into her head. "Ruby!" She wails in horror, crumpling down onto the floor from failure, sniffling. Kassius stands back up, his eyes wide and mouth agape.

Salem has Ruby.

He reaches out to Yang and he helps her back to her feet.

The sound of Bullheads grows and grows as they stand there. The Acolytes of Lien are coming for them.

 

**Whitley**

 

He waltzes around the office that belongs to his father, the door opens and Jacques enters, seeing the boy walking around with his hands behind his back as always. Jacques looks at him and then returns to his table. "How is the business?" Jacques asks him, instead of even bothering how his son is actually feeling. Always mind on business.

"Profits are exceeding as expected, and the balance is perfect." He explains to him.

"Excellent, you will grow up to be a fantastic Entrepreneur." Jacques compliments, probably the kindest thing he has ever said to a family member, despite that it is still related to the business in some sense. Now that his son has the Schnee Fortune in his name, he can actually connect with his child, as he attempted to with Weiss after Beacon. But he failed to indoctrinate her into believing in his selfish ideals, she wants to be a hero, to help the little people that were never as fortunate as she is.

And she is dying right now while they play business in Atlas. "I try." Whitley gleefully perches. "What did Merlot and Ortega tell you?" He asks, it also seems that his father is actually involving him in his criminal lifestyle as well.

"Turns out that your sister has been wounded by Death, and that her leader has been injured as well." Jacques says. "I guess that means the Knights may make our jobs easier. We just need to keep on acting like we are on Salem's side until we can control her forces and turn them against her." Jacques explains.

"What about the Faunus? Still plan to control them as staff?" He asks him.

"Of course, for they are just as much animals as the Grimm are." He states with a shrug of his shoulders. Blake is right; the discrimination that her race suffers from will not fade whilst men like him still exist in the world. Whitley smirks menacingly.

"Doesn't team R.W.B.Y have a Faunus member?" Whitley asks.

"I think so...I have heard she used to be a high ranking White Fang member." Jacques says with a chuckle.

"Am I able to use my experiment to take them down?" Whitley asks him with excitement, revealing some sort of secret that he has been working on.

"Project Deimos is not ready yet. When it is ready and the time is right, you can get your payback on Weiss and Winter, I promise." Jacques assures, his ways of talking about his own daughters is absolutely sickening. He speaks of them like they are not actually people now, like they are just Creatures of Grimm to be exterminated. They are his own blood...and he treats them this way.

Whitley sighs as he looks at the floor.

Jacques clasps his hands together. "It is an impressive undertaking however." Jacques says, pressing a button.

The projector opens, releasing the holographic blueprint of Project Deimos. It is an Atlesian Mechanised Suit, similar to the Atlesian Paladin Exo-Suit, but this is far more unique. It is taller than the Paladin and less wide, resembling the shape of a soldier. Very similar to the Giant Armour that Weiss fought, but made in this form. It is planned to be made of titanium steel alloy and used many forms of Dust, and from what the suit seems to plan to have incorporated into it is the ability to create Glyphs as the Schnees could do from their family tree. It can be piloted, and as the animation shows, it is very fluent and can be used in great combat situations. Whitley lied to Weiss, he is jealous of her abilities, of Winter's abilities.

He wants to use the suit to kill his sisters and anyone else that stands in their way. "But...it is not ready yet. Merlot has offered assistance in building it." Jacques says to him.

"Help is always accepted." Whitley says with a bow. Jacques smirks menacingly.

"Go on, son, I'm sure you may have better things to do." Jacques dismisses.

"Of course father." He bows once more. Whitley turns with a large step, leaving the office. He closes the door behind him, the room dreadfully cold. He turns and sees Klein stood there, looking at him with disgust. Klein turns to walk away from him but Whitley stops him with one statement. "I know what you did, Klein." Whitley states. Klein stops and his eyes turn red for a split second, but he calms down and returns to his usual personality.

"Whatever do you mean, Master Whitley?" Klein asks him, with his constant upbeat personality. Whitley remains cold, just like his father.

"I know you are the one that helped Weiss escape. Just as you helped Winter." He reveals. Klein remains quiet and Whitley turns to walk away.

"Someone needs to be family to the two girls, boy." He snarls, changing his personality. Whitley is shocked from the fact that he calls him boy instead of master. Klein says no more, leaving him with a walk down the hallway. Whitley looks back at the servant with angry eyes. He continues on...wishing for his own sisters dead.

 

**Ironwood**

 

He has been stripped of his rank.

Left to rot in a cell. He sits in the dark with his arm rested on his knees. His metal hand flexes as he sits there, hearing the soldiers conversing as they walk past the cell that he remains in. He is left to think about things, things he could have done differently. Could he have saved Vale and Beacon from Cinder faster? Could he have done something about Mistral? Why didn't he see the traitor that lived very near to where he lives? 

So many questions with no answers to be given. He clenches his cybernetic hand into a fist to punch the door from its hinges, but he stops, remembering what happened last time. There are shock charges inside the cell, and if he tries anything, it will fry him. It has already happened to him once, who knows if they will hold it down for longer this time. He has never noticed that the Acolytes of Lien have managed to worm their way into his army and that a businessman has managed to take his place through money.

Who knows what will happen next?

He remains there, listening to the soldiers outside his cell talking. "Did you hear?" One of them asks.

"Hear what?" The other responds.

"Mistral has stopped reporting in." He answers.

"For real?" He questions.

"Yeah." The guard states.

"By the gods..." He gasps. They continue to talk and Ironwood remains inside, but then someone approaches the cell.

"Excuse me, but could I speak with the General?" A man asks them.

"Sorry, sir, but we can't let anyone speak with the prisoner without direct orders from Mr Schnee." The Guard says, Ironwood listens carefully.

"I am his servant, he has asked me to speak to him." Klein says to them both. The soldiers look at each other and then they sigh, turning and walking away. Ironwood stands up sharply, recognising the wise voice very quickly and he walks up to the cell door as the slider opens up. He looks out and he sees the short man looking at him.

"Klein?" Ironwood questions in confusion at this situation.

"I need to talk to you." Klein says to him.

"Can you get me out?" Ironwood asks.

"Not yet, I need to find out how to contact Winter Schnee...I hear about Weiss being injured by that Knight. Those girls are like daughters to me, I need to know that they are safe. We are both in the dark, if I can get information out from them to you, we can try and help." Klein explains.

Ironwood quickly catches onto the fact that he has not been sent by Jacques. "Jacques didn't send you..." He presumes.

"No. He is no father...if I can help them I will try. And I will try and get you out as well. But Whitley knows I helped Weiss escape, he will suspect." Klein explains.

"I can wait." Ironwood promises.

"Thank you." Klein kindly responds.

"If you go to my office, there is a direct feed to her. Hopefully she can respond if she is still alive." Ironwood explains.

"I will get you out, I promise. We just need to know what we are up against." Klein says with a nod. Ironwood sighs and he nods back to Klein as Klein shuts the slider when the Guards return to their posts. Klein walks down the hallway, he is the only feed of information that the Schnees have left on what is happening here, but he must be careful. Jacques and Whitley Schnee have lost their way.

 

**Klein**

 

Klein walks away from his cell as the Guards return and he looks around, he can see more and more soldiers that have either been bribed by Jacques or Acolytes disguised as them walking the halls, armed with rifles. He carefully walks around, acting as casually as he possibly can. But on his journey to find Ironwood's office, he stops when he looks through the window at the garden.

There is a tall and beautiful late middle aged woman sat in the garden with a glass of wine in her hand, drinking away. Her long white hair blows in the wind, she just looks at the hedges that have been cut into the shapes of King Taijitu and Beowulves. She wears a crystal white dress that surrounds her legs and has a fluffy collar around it. It holds the Schnee Symbol on the back, twinkling like the snow that she sits around. He sighs and he walks through the doors after going down the stairs to approach her. Wrinkles have formed on her face and her large blue eyes look at the bushes, almost zoning out as she sits there. He looks at her with a sigh, putting his hands behind his back. "Miss Schnee?" Klein greets.

She turns, she is tearful when she looks at her dear friend.

"Klein..." She weakly says, she has a very soft, almost frail, voice as she speaks. She has been drinking for a long time, because the scars of alcohol have formed on her skin.

"Willow..." He says as he approaches her side. "Why do you continue to drink out here?" Klein asks her.

Willow lets a sharp exhale escape her lungs. "My daughter..." She sniffles. "I heard about what happened to her..." Klein closes his eyes and he looks away, she does love her children but her husband has caused her to drink constantly. "I have let myself marry a monster, Klein...I thought he was more..." She says to him.

"We all did." Klein agrees. "It is not your fault, if it were not for you meeting him, your two snowflakes would never have been born." Klein explains.

"What about Whitley? He could have been good but his damn father has poisoned his mind, making him hate his own siblings." Willow sniffles as she wipes the tears from her eyes. "What kind of mother does that make me? Because of my stupid decisions when I was a young girl...I slept with a man who has now destroyed the Schnee Family Name!" She shouts in anger at her own past, taking the glass and throwing it at the fountain. The glass explodes into shards, the red wine splashing everywhere.

Klein reaches out to the crying mother who hates herself for something that she had no part in playing. "And now my own daughter is dying...could be dead for all I know...and he shrugs it off because she wants to follow the path of her forefathers?" She scoffs in disgust.

"You mustn't blame yourself, Willow. Jacques...was not always a cruel man. He was once a good man...but money and the Schnee Fortune, it consumed him. He wanted power after he met you, you didn't know. None of us did." Klein assures her. Willow looks at him with an affectionate smile.

"You've always been such a dear member of our family, Klein..." She gently says. "You've been a better father to those girls than their real dad." She says.

"They deserve happiness." Klein points out with a simple shrug of the shoulders.

"Can you find out if she is okay?" She asks him.

"That's what I plan to do." Klein promises. "I just need to find out how." He says to her. Willow smiles.

"Thank you..." Willow says, sitting back down.

Klein turns from Willow Schnee and he walks back into the Schnee Residence, looking around as he walks into the halls. He walks down the halls, looking down the different paths that are available and there are soldiers everywhere, their weapons at the ready. Directly ahead is the office that he has been using every now and then when he comes by to speak to Jacques. He approaches and he looks down the halls.

He is clear.

He grabs the handle and pushes it down. The door is open, luckily and he shuts it behind him, promptly locking it.

 

**Yang**

 

Yang and Kassius sprint through the woods to escape the clutches of the Acolytes of Lien. Bullheads with machine guns built into the side of the troop bays open fire on them, launching bullets down into the soil to go after them. Yang's vision is obscured by the tears that blind her as she runs. All that goes through her mind is Ruby and whatever fate that awaits her in the claws of Salem and the Knights of Grimm.

They both run as fast as they can until a pair of Armoured Trucks smash through the trees and they block their escape, trapping them as more soldiers emerge behind them. They all point their weapons at them, and they both calculate their chances of success against these guys. "There's too many." Kassius says to her as he puts his hands behind his head. Yang is reluctant.

"Listen to your boyfriend, Blondie." One of the soldiers demands. She scowls at him but Kassius looks up at her as he drops to his knees. She trusts him with her life, so she sighs, putting her hands behind her head and she slowly drops to her knees beside him as the Acolytes surround them, aiming their assault rifles, shotguns and machine guns at them. "That's good." The soldier chuckles.

"I like her, she's pretty." One of the soldiers creepily says behind Yang. Yang looks at him.

"Try it, pal. I'll make it worth your while." She smirks sarcastically.

One of the soldiers suddenly punches her right across the face with force and she yelps from the impact. Kassius yells in anger, lunging at the soldier, but a soldier wearing an Exo-Suit presses his boot down on his back, pushing his face into the dirt. "Don't try it, pretty boy." He scoffs.

Yang laughs a little from the punch, staring at the soldier who did that. "You're gonna pay for that." Yang promises.

He has no idea of what is forming behind him, and at first, neither do Yang or Kassius. There is a flash of red light behind him and he does not notice. "The boss is gonna like this." He says to them all. None of the soldiers notice the red Odachi that thrashes right across his neck, beheading the soldier in one swing.

Blood erupts from his neck, his head falling from his shoulders and rolling across the floor. Everyone turns and gasps when they hear his body collapse. Yang and Kassius gasp when they see her stood there, throwing the blood from the red blade. Yang laughs quietly as she sees her black hair blowing in the wind and she sheathes her Odachi before the soldiers.

"You boys are in trouble now..." Yang giggles with a big smile on her face. "Gentlemen, say hello to my mom. Raven Branwen." Yang introduces. The soldiers stammer in fear at her presence, their weapons held high.

"Hitting my daughter...was a bad move. Brothers and Sisters, remove this scum from my face." She orders.

More red portals suddenly open and a bunch of Warriors sprint out from them with weapons designed with the same style of red energy as her Odachi. They also wear the same colour scheme as Raven, meaning that they are also from the same Tribe, wearing similar helmets. They all attack the soldiers, one of them draws a bow and arrow, and launching three arrows at once that kills three soldiers in one attack.

Another Clan Member sprints at the soldiers, leaping into the air and throwing a tomahawk straight into a guard's chest. He lands in front of him, ripping the axe from his chest and smashing it through the skull of another soldier. Raven stabs her Odachi through the chest of the soldier that had his boot pressed down on Kassius' back. Dirt covers half his face. The Tribe manage to wipe out the forces that captured the two lovers and after a few minutes, it is just the Clan and them.

Yang stands back up with Kassius and she looks at her Mother as she sheathes her sword. Raven immediately wraps her arms around her daughter, holding her tight. She even hugs Kassius, which catches him off guard from it. But if she really did watch over her baby girl, then it means that she knows of Kassius and how he always looked after her during the tough times. She looks at them both with a smile. "I said I'd come back." Raven says.

"Yeah...just wish it were under better circumstances." Yang says. "We need to find Ruby." She immediately says.

"Where is she?" Raven asks her.

"Death shot her eye out and he captured her with that lunatic, Tyrian." Yang explains to her. Raven lifts her finger up to shush her daughter.

"Ssh." She gently shushes. "We can discuss this at our home." She says. She nods to her clan members, and they all form their own portals, running into them. Kassius looks at her, picking Lash Equinox back up and deactivating them, putting them back onto the magnetic strips of metal on his legs so they do not fall off. She draws her Odachi and she swings it behind her, forming one of the red portals behind her and she lets the two of them go first. Yang and Kassius nod, putting their faith in her hands.

They both walk towards it, and it is like a doorway. They enter it and it reveals the home of the tribe. Wherever it is, it's underground in some kind of cavern. They have built a home in here that has electricity and is well hidden from the Grimm. There are Tribesmen everywhere in here, tending to the wounds of their comrades.

Even White Fang members are here as well, fixing their wounds. Survivors from Mistral, Thara is here with them. Yang looks back at her mother as the portal closes behind her. "You've been saving people, keeping them safe?" Yang asks.

"When survival of the fittest has been your belief for your entire life...and suddenly you are the prey? It changes your views on the weaker people." Raven states to her. "We need as many people alive as we can right now, we can't let Death or the other Knights win." Raven explains. Kassius and Yang follow her.

"Did you find the others? Qrow, Weiss, Neptune?" Kassius lists. Before he can list any more names, they both stop and their eyes widen in disbelief when they see Qrow and all of them inside of a hospital. A Tribeswoman is stood over Weiss on a bed, tending to her injury with a blood bag and I.V attached to her body, her pulse is steady. Nora's eyes widen and Blake gasps in amazement.

Blake sprints to Yang, hugging her as she approaches him, holding her tight with a cry of happiness to see her alive. Qrow smiles when he sees Raven stood there, and she smiles back. Kassius walks over to Sun, catching his hand and bringing in a friendly hug, patting his back. They all reconnect after what happened there and Neptune smiles, waving to the two of them. They have been tending to his legs as well. There are lots of screams in here, but they are screams of pain being dealt with to help people survive the destruction of Mistral.

Yang sniffles as she looks at her Faunus friend. "Are you alright?" Blake asks her.

"Are you?" Yang asks.

"I asked you first." Blake backtracks.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Yang stammers.

"So am I." Blake finally answers.

Yang then looks at Weiss, she is in a bed with the cover over her body, asleep right now. "Is she going to be okay?" Yang asks the nurse.

"We've fixed worse injuries from Death. She'll make it." The nurse promises. Weiss moans as she wakes up slowly and her large blue eyes look and they see Yang's purple ones.

"Yang?" Weiss whispers weakly. Yang immediately hugs her.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" Yang sniffles with happiness.

"And I you..." Weiss says, but she looks around, noticing that Ruby is not with her. Not hearing her overly enthusiastic voice is always bizarre to her. Which means that she will have to break the news soon. "Where's Ruby?" Weiss asks her. Yang's eyes well up and everyone looks at her for answers, dreading to hear the worst.

"Yang...what happened?" Qrow asks nervously, wanting to know if his daughter is alive and well. She stammers to answer.

"Death shot her eye out." Yang stutters. They all gasp in horror when she says that, Blake covers her mouth in horror and Nora tightens her grip on Magnhild.

"What?" Blake stammers.

"Jaune carried her out but he went missing. We found her, he must have hidden her from the Acolytes because there were soldiers looking for her. Death shot an arrow and it must have just caught her eye, because her eye is gone..." Yang sniffles, breaking into tears as she explains. Kassius takes over as he holds her close, giving her a shoulder to cry onto.

"We had her, but Death and Tyrian were there. They both took her and we lost her. Salem has her now." Kassius explains to finish it for Yang. Qrow yells in anger, punching the wall with his fist.

"Then we get her back." Sun says as he looks at them. Despite everything that he lost in that battle at Mistral, he is still ready to help them all. Even after Sage and Scarlet...he will still help.

"Hell yeah." Neptune agrees.

"Where do we start?" Ren asks with a shrug.

"We need to find out information of where Salem's Sanctuary could be." Kassius says to them all.

"I think might be able to help with that." Raven says.

**Death**

 

The black portal bursts open, Tyrian steps out first and he throws Ruby onto the floor, despite her condition. Cinder's eyes widen in disbelief when she sees Ruby on the floor, the damage done to her adorable face actually makes her sympathise with her. Emerald and Mercury look at her on the floor where Tyrian threw her. He bows before Salem as she approaches him. "Sorry for the late delivery, my Queen." Tyrian says to her. Salem looks down at her body on the floor and then at Tyrian. Death stands to the left of Tyrian with his sword pressed down into the floor.

"You have redeemed yourself, Tyrian. But this is no place for our guest, take her to a cell where she can be kept. We will put a patch on that wound later." Salem assures. Tyrian loyally bows again, picking her up and walking away from Salem. Cinder stands there, looking at Salem as she stands there. Salem turns and looks at her.

"What now?" Cinder asks.

"We continue with the plan." Salem says. "Continue the search for the Spring Maiden, the next Relics will be uncovered. Go get ready, Cinder. The search will begin soon." Salem orders. Cinder gets up and she walks out of the room with Emerald and Mercury, leaving Salem with Death where he stands. Salem walks towards Death, by his shoulder.

Death says nothing. "I know you will do what must be done, Death." Salem says to him, placing her hand on his shoulder. "You always have." Salem says, walking away with him.

Death remains still as she leaves the room and the doors close behind her. A new side to Death is unveiled as a deep, menacing laugh emerges from the mask. "Yes..." Death quietly says, his head slowly rising up as he remains stood with the blade of Ferrum Arctus pierced through the stone, darkness trailing from his armoured form.

"I do..." Death concludes.

That’s when a creepy whistle appears behind him and he turns his head slightly to see a dark silhouette stood there with its hands clasped together and a pair of glowing red eyes focused on the Knight.

And for the first time.

Death looks so intimidated by it.

“Everything is going according to plan, my disciple...” The entity says.

“I know...” He sighs.

Death looks down at the ground, clenching his hand into a fist with defeat. “When will it end?” He asks.

“Soon...” It replies.

Before disappearing just as mysteriously as it arrived.

“Good...” Death sighs, picking Ferrum Arctus back up, as he hears the whistling echo through his mind.

Transforming into the words of some sort of creepy song.

 

_"A grin as candid as children, as sweet as bee honey,"_

_"His voice kind and sharp, as the blade of a razor,"_

_"Brings you from elder to youth, within the blink of an eye."_

_"Wishes be granted, be it: love, riches or luck,"_

_"His face like a mirror, fear shall consume you,"_

_"Anger through truth, loss through acceptance."_

_"For the end of your journey, Death will come for you,"_

_"Charcoal Cities, come waiting for you,"_

_"The Soothsayer shall wait, for his voice will control you,"_

_"Torment and Control, till the moon will shatter.”_

**To be Continued...**

**In Act 2: Captured**


End file.
